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Library of Congress. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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Chap. 



SHELF- 




CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL, MONTREAL. 



MY FIRST YEAR IN 
CANADA. 



RIGHT REV. ASHTON OXENDEN, D.D. 

BISHOP OF MONTREAL, AND METROPOLITAN OF CANADA. 



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LONDON: 

HATC HARDS, 187 PICCADILLY. 

New York : POTT & AMERY, Cooper Union. 

1871. 



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CONTENTS. 



CHAP. PAGE 

I. MY CALL TO CANADA I 

II. FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF MONTREAL . . .II 

III. VISITATIONS ABOUT THE DIOCESE . . . 17 

IV. A VISITATION TOUR HIGHER UP THE OTTAWA . 2J 

V. SHORT TRIPS IN COLD WEATHER ... 38 

VI. A WINTER IN MONTREAL 52 

VII. A SUMMER IN THE EASTERN TOWNSHIPS . . 65 

VIII. CLOSE OF THE SUMMER 78 

IX. STATUS AND PROSPECTS OF THE CHURCH . . 88 
APPENDIX : — 

1. FIRST SERMON AT MONTREAL . . 97 

2. PRIMARY ADDRESS TO THE SYNOD . I08 



MY FIRST YEAR IN CANADA. 



CHAPTER I. 

MY CALL TO CANADA. 

It has so happened that from failure of health, 
and other causes, I have visited many countries, 
France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Ma- 
deira, &c. But least of all did I think that I 
should ever set foot on the shores of the New 
World. God however sometimes selects a Home 
for us where we least expect it ; and certainly my 
present Home in Canada was not of my own 
choosing : God seemed to mark out the way for 
me, and called me hither. 

The circumstances which led me to the Far 
West were these. One day in March, 1869, when 
my wife and I were passing a few days at Bourne- 
mouth, a Letter reached me, penned by a strange 
hand, and stamped with a foreign post-mark. 
Its contents too were as strange to me, and as 
foreign to my previous thoughts, as were the 

B 



2 My First Year in Canada. 

Person who wrote it, and the quarter from whence 
it came. 

The writer of the letter was a Canadian Bishop, 
who was at the time personally unknown to me. 
Its purport was to tell me that, in consequence of 
the lamented death of Bishop Fulford, the Synod 
of Montreal had met in the previous November, 
and had failed to accomplish its object, namely, 
the election of a Chief Pastor for the Diocese, and 
a Metropolitan of the Province of Canada. He 
informed me that the Synod would again meet in 
May, and asked if I would allow my name to be 
sent down by the Bishops, and whether, in the 
event of being elected, I should be content to fill 
the office. 

After due consideration, and prayer to that 
Heavenly Counsellor on whose guiding hand I 
could unreservedly depend, and after consulting 
two confidential friends whose judgment I valued, 
I sat down to write my answer. It was, that for 
reasons which I mentioned, I felt myself unfitted 
for so high and onerous an office ; and begged 
him not to submit my name as a candidate for 
the post. I despatched my letter, convinced that 
I had acted rightly, according to the best of 
my judgment, and feeling that I was in the hands 
of One who could and would overrule it, if He 
saw fit. 

Nearly two months passed, and Montreal with 



My Call to Canada. 3 

all the circumstances connected with it was almost 
forgotten ; and certainly I never expected that 
my name would be even mentioned at the Synod 
after the decision I had come to, and which I had 
expressed in my letter. We were sitting at break- 
fast however one morning, in our sweet Kentish 
Rectory, when the postman brought my customary 
allowance of letters, and amongst them one with 
this startling address : l The Rev. Ashton Oxenden, 
Bishop Elect of Montreal/ 

I own it took me altogether by surprise. It 
informed me that my name had been duly sup- 
pressed by the assembled Bishops, in accordance 
with my wish, but that in the course of proceeding, 
circumstances arose which led to the mention of 
myself amongst that of others, by certain members 
of the Lower House ; and eventually to my un- 
animous election. 

Such were the contents of this most unexpected 
Letter from a friend then unknown to me, but 
whom I now regard as a beloved and valued 
Brother, the Bishop of Quebec. 

What was to be done ? I, of course, took 
counsel with my wife on a matter which so deeply 
concerned us both. To each of us our course 
seemed equally clear, and our duty plain ; and 
never since has the conviction, on that day formed, 
once varied. Not one misgiving from that hour 
sprang up in our minds. A voice from above 



4 My First Year in Canada. 

seemed to say, Go; and we had henceforth no 
doubt that such was the will of our Heavenly- 
Father. 

I will not weary my reader with all that occurred 
in quick succession during the next few weeks, 
and all the varied thoughts, which, flowing out as 
from a newly opened spring, rushed through our 
minds — the disclosure to our nearest friends of 
what had taken place, and of which they had not 
even a suspicion — the severance from a beloved flock, 
with whom I had been ministerially connected 
above twenty years — the rending of those family 
and social ties, which nature binds so strongly — 
the quitting a peaceful home and a beloved country 
— and the prospect of beginning life again in a 
new and unknown land. On these, both for my 
own and for my readers sake, I refrain from 
dwelling. 

Suffice it to say, that on Sunday, August 1st, 
1869, I was consecrated in Westminster Abbey 
by the Archbishop of Canterbury and six assisting 
Bishops. And, having been thus solemnly set 
apart for my great and important work, I left the 
shores of England in the good ship 'Nestorian/ 
one of the fine Steamers on the Allan Line, com- 
manded by Captain Aird, of whom I cannot speak 
with too much praise. Our party consisted of my 
wife, myself, our child, and four faithful English 
maid-servants. After a speedy and prosperous 



My Call to Canada. 5 

voyage of ten days, we reached Quebec a little 
after midnight, on August 29th, a few hours before 
the dawn of a Canadian Sunday morning. 

After a disturbed night's rest on board the 
Steamer, we rose, and were greeted by a kind 
deputation of Clerical brethren belonging to the 
city, and also of two Rural Deans of my Diocese, 
who had come all the way from Montreal to bid us 
a hearty and true welcome. We soon found 
ourselves at home among strangers : and after 
refreshing ourselves at a comfortable hotel (the 
St. Louis), we prepared for Morning Service at 
the Cathedral, where we and several of our fellow- 
passengers gave public thanks to God for the many 
mercies of a safe and successful voyage. I assisted 
in the service, and preached in the evening. 

We were delighted with the striking situation 
and beauty of Quebec — a quaint old town, very 
foreign, and perched on the side of a steep hill, 
commanding a glorious view of the river and of 
the surrounding country. We remained there till 
the following evening, and then proceeded by rail 
to Montreal, a distance of 180 miles. 

By the way, I must mention a curious incident 
that occurred. On the night of our arrival at 
Quebec, I had retired to rest in our little cabin, 
and had fallen asleep, in spite of the trampling of 
feet and other indescribable noises in the ship, all 
of which seemed to concentre at our door, and 



6 My First Year in Canada. 

were symptomatic of our having reached our port. 
Presently a loud rap was heard ; and after much 
discussion on the outside, and a vain endeavour 
on my part to persuade the people that I was only 
half awake and did not wish to be disturbed, I 

was told that Mr. B had sent his car, and 

hoped I would make use of it. Who Mr. B 

was I did not know. I could only guess that he 
was the proprietor of the hotel who had kindly 
sent a conveyance for us ; and so I begged to be 
allowed to rest quietly where I was till morning. 

A few minutes after came another knock. It 
was in vain to close one's ears, or to refuse an 
entrance. I was told that a Deputation was wait- 
ing to receive me. It was rather a trying hour 
and place for so formal an interview ; so I said 
it was impossible, and still pleaded, as I had 

done to Mr. B 's messenger, a desire not to 

be disturbed. 

But to return to Mr. B and his Car. When 

morning came, I learnt that Mr. B was not 

only a leading member of our Church, but was 
also a most important person at Montreal, on 
whom the destinies of the railroad depended, and 
one of the most intelligent, upright, and respected 
men in Canada ; and that the Car spoken of, and 
which I in my English ignorance had mistaken 
for a Cab, was his own private railway travelling- 
carriage, w r hich he had with very great courtesy 



My Call to Canada. 7 

and kindness invited us to make use of. But he 
was too sensible and kind a person to be offended, 
and repeated his welcome offer for Monday 
evening ; and in that comfortable and luxurious 
carriage, we (that is, our seven selves and our two 
Rural Deans) steamed on to Montreal, arriving 
there at eight o'clock on Tuesday morning. 

Our journey from Quebec, though under most 
propitious circumstances, was somewhat tedious. 
The train was far less expeditious than those we 
had been accustomed to in England, and the 
stoppages seemed to be needlessly protracted. 
The Grand Trunk is making rapid improvements ; 
but still there is a lack of that smartness and 
regularity, which are met with on English lines. 
The stations are miserable ; and there are no 
porters to help the passengers on their arrival, 
but each one is expected to shift for himself as 
best he can. I must say however that in my 
various railway trips, I have met, from officials 
and others, with as much courtesy and attention 
as could possibly be shown in any country. 

The luggage system is well managed, and it is 
scarcely possible for any one to lose his baggage. 
Its safety is ensured by checks, given to the 
possessor, with corresponding numbers attached 
to the goods themselves. As a single line gene- 
rally prevails in Canada, the trains are necessarily 
few and far between. The carriages, or cars, are 



8 My First Year in Canada. 

long narrow conveyances, resembling in some 
respects our second-class compartments, but far 
more comfortable. There are only two grades of 
conveyance ; the one in which the world in general 
travels, and the other which is only resorted to by 
those to whom cheapness is an object. In addition 
however to these, a new description of car has been 
introduced upon some of the lines, luxuriously 
furnished, and provided with every comfort for a 
night journey. 

But to go back to our journey from Quebec. 

At St. Hilaire, Major C , who is the possessor 

of one of the old Seigneuries, a warm-hearted 
Englishman, and a staunch friend of the Church, 
joined us, bidding us welcome to the neighbour- 
hood of Montreal. On arriving at the Bonaventure 
Terminus, a large number of Clergy, with the 
venerable Dean at their head, were assembled to 
receive us ; and with them were the leading 
Laymen of the city and neighbourhood. Their 
welcome was very touching, making us feel at 
once that we had come among friends, and that 
our new abode would soon prove a home to us. 

The various introductions over, we drove up 

in Mrs. H 's carriage, with the Dean and Mr. 

Hutton (the Diocesan Treasurer), to our residence 
in Drummond Street, which had been generously 
provided for us free of expense for the next eight 
months. Here we found every want anticipated, 



My Call to Canada. 9 

and every comfort supplied. The urn was even 
fizzing on the table, a delicious breakfast ready, 
and our larder and storeroom filled for weeks to 
come. I never ate a meal with feelings of greater 
thankfulness. 

On the afternoon of the same day, an Address 
was presented to me in the Synod room from a 
large gathering of the leading Laymen, and another 
on the next day from the Clergy. These were 
followed by others — by the English Working 
Men's Society, and a week later by the Bishops 
of the Province, who were represented in person 
by the Bishops of Quebec and Huron, who had 
kindly travelled many miles to express their hearty 
welcome. 

During the first few days we had little time 
to ourselves, for besides my more public engage- 
ments, our visitors vied with one another in testify- 
ing their hearty goodwill and kindness to us. Our 
hearts must have been dull indeed, if we could 
have mistaken these tokens of affection so sincerely 
offered to us. 

On the first Sunday after our arrival, Sep- 
tember 5th (having previously re-appointed as my 
chaplains the two clergymen who had filled that 
office under my predecessor), I was duly installed 
in the Cathedral, a building erected nine years 
ago, and of great beauty, worthy of the Metro- 
politan See of Canada. At the close of the service, 



io My First Year in Canada. 

I preached on the text,* ' Whom shall I send, and 
who will go for us ? Here am I, Lord, send me.' 
I also preached in the evening to a large and 
attentive congregation. 

And here ended the more public ceremonies 
connected with my entrance upon Episcopal life 
in Montreal — a life which I humbly trust may 
in some measure tend to the promotion of my 
Master's kingdom and glory. 

* The Sermon is given in the Appendix. 



II 



CHAPTER II. 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF MONTREAL. 

OUR first impressions of the city of Montreal were 
very favourable. It is a well-built town, beauti- 
fully situated on rising ground, and backed by a 
fine mountain-like hill, from which it takes its 
name (Mont Real), having at its foot the huge and 
noble St. Lawrence. It has been justly called ' The 
young and beautiful Queen of the West/ 

The lower parts of the town, near the river, are 
chiefly inhabited by the French-speaking portion 
of the population, with the exception of two or 
three leading streets filled with first-rate shops, 
which are mostly served by English proprietors ; 
and still nearer the river are clustered the hand- 
some warehouses and offices of our wealthy 
merchants. The upper parts of the town are 
of more recent growth, and contain commodious 
and detached houses, belonging to men of business 
and persons of fortune. The streets in this part of 
the town are as yet incomplete, showing at present 
certain gaps, which will ere long be filled up with 
handsome houses. They are all flanked by trees, 



1 2 My First Year in Canada. 

chiefly maples, which, besides the welcome shade 
they afford in summer, greatly add to the beauty 
of the town. 

One thing particularly struck us at first, namely, 
that most of the houses have their shutters closed, 
so that the rooms are in almost funereal darkness. 
This arises from the necessity in hot weather of 
excluding the burning sun, and also the flies which 
here abound. And the consequence is that people 
get so used to this state of things, that darkness 
becomes the normal condition of many rooms 
even in winter. Loving as I do the bright sun- 
shine, it will be long before I shall be prepared 
to endorse this custom. 

The Montreal builders are excellent. They not 
only run up their houses at an indescribable speed, 
but they build them well and substantially. A 
house begun in the early spring is often finished, and 
even inhabited, before the following winter. The 
exceeding dryness of the climate facilitates this 
speedy occupation. The English maxim does not 
therefore hold good in this country, 'When your 
house is built you should put your enemy into it 
the first year, then your friend, and afterwards you 
may get into it yourself/ We are now building a 
house under the wing of the Cathedral for the 
Bishop's residence ; but we are too fresh from 
England to hurry matters ; and so, having begun 
it in April, it will be finished in the spring, and we 



First Impressions of Montreal. 1 3 

hope to get into it next autumn. I was unwilling 
to have entered upon this responsibility, since it 
involves a permanent tax upon the episcopal in- 
come; but a small sum originally devoted to the 
purpose was available to meet about one-third of 
the outlay, and it seemed to me especially desir- 
able to do something towards the completion of 
the group of ecclesiastical buildings around our 
beautiful Cathedral. May it be the peaceful and 
happy abode of many of my successors ! I cannot 
expect it to be more than a very temporary resi- 
dence for myself. 

I cannot speak with much praise of the street 
roads of Montreal. This year, at least, they have 
been in a chronic state of roughness, and the con- 
sequent jolting is extremely unpleasant. It must 
be very difficult however to keep them in decent 
repair, in consequence of the severity of the winter, 
with its repeated attacks of frost and snow. The 
side-walks are not paved, but are covered with 
strong springy boards, which, though somewhat 
unsightly, are by no means unpleasant to walk 
upon. 

The streets are all alive with carriages, both 
hired and private, and the pace at which people 
drive is at first rather alarming to a sober, slow- 
moving Englishman. The public cabs have a 
very old-fashioned look, being very high from the 
ground and difficult of entrance, with a good deal 



14 My First Year in Canada. 

of silver about them, and of the stamp of the Louis 
Quatorze age. They are however very clean, and 
the drivers are generally honest and unexacting. 

The private carriages are extremely well ap- 
pointed. They are well built, and the horses 
good ; but one misses the neat liveries to which 
we are accustomed in England ; and the practice 
which prevails pretty generally of driving with one 
rein in each hand, strikes one as being a little 
awkward. 

The chief buildings which adorn the city of 
Montreal are its Churches. The largest, although 
not the most beautiful, are the Roman Catholic 
Church of Notre Dame, and the Jesuits* Church 
in Bleury Street. But the English Churches are 
far more beautiful, at least to our taste. Of these 
our Cathedral stands first and foremost, being a 
large cruciform building, and a very pure specimen 
of the Early Decorated style of Gothic architecture, 
with a simple but extremely beautiful little Chapter- 
house beneath its shadow. 

The whole is very chaste and handsome. The 
inside is less effective than the exterior. The recent 
addition of an obelisk to the memory of the late 
Bishop makes the group complete. 

Besides the Ecclesiastical buildings, there are 
others which strike the eye. M'Gill College is 
admirably placed with the mountain as a back- 
ground, and a little park in front. It is a secular 



First Impressions of Montreal. 1 5 

University, and well managed. Then the principal 
Banks, St. Patrick's Hall, the Town Hall, &c. are 
all worthy of this flourishing and wealthy city. 

The Victoria Bridge, which spans the broad St. 
Lawrence, is one of the wonders of Canada. This 
enormous bridge is, I believe, nearly two miles 
long. It is of wrought-iron, and rests upon twenty- 
four limestone piers. The railway passes over it, 
and it is therefore of immense importance to 
Montreal, and to Canada generally. It was con- 
structed at an expense of about one million and 
a half sterling. 

Montreal has lately sustained a great loss in 
the removal of the Imperial troops. The barracks 
have now a deserted look, and I fear that very 
soon there will not be a soldier left. 

At one time it was doubtful whether Montreal 
would not be chosen as the Seat of Government. In 
many respects it seemed the obvious place for this 
distinction ; but for reasons, wise or unwise, Mont- 
real was set aside, and Ottawa chosen. In the 
latter city Government buildings have been erected 
on a large and splendid scale ; and there the 
Governor- General resides at Rideau Hall, just 
outside the town ; and there also the Dominion 
Parliament meets, and the Ministers of State have 
their offices. 

The Parliament consists of an Upper House, or 
Senate, chosen by the Crown, and a Lower House 



1 5 My First Year in Canada. 

elected by the people. The members of the former 
have the title of ' Honourable ' prefixed to their 
names for life. The same privilege belongs to 
those who have served as Ministers of State. 

The city of Montreal has a Mayor and Corpora- 
tion, to whom is entrusted the management of its 
local concerns. The inhabitants are exceedingly 
well conducted. One rarely meets with anything 
that offends either the ear or the eye, and a 
drunkard or a beggar is seldom seen ; on Sunday 
too the streets are unusually quiet and orderly. 

Upon the whole, I prefer Montreal, as a place 
of residence, to almost any town that I have ever 
seen. And we may truly feel that ' our lines are 
fallen in pleasant places,' and that God has sur- 
rounded us with temporal blessings far beyond our 
deserts. 

But the loveliest spot does not constitute 
happiness. Our joy depends far more on what we 
are than where we are. A right and well-regulated 
mind is a better possession than the most favoured 
dwelling-place. 



i7 



CHAPTER III. 

VISITATIONS ABOUT THE DIOCESE. 

My first purely episcopal act was the consecration 
of the pretty little church at Como, a hamlet on 
the south bank of the Ottawa. This took place 
just a fortnight after our arrival in Canada. 

The morning was lovely, though somewhat 
hazy. Our party, which numbered eight or ten, 
consisted of my wife and myself, my chaplain Mr. 

L , two other clergymen, their wives, and 

the Archdeacon of Ontario, who joined us on the 
way. We left Montreal by train for Lachine, 
where we took the steamer, and at tw r elve o'clock 
arrived at Como. We had been detained for nearly 
two hours by a river fog, and found the congrega- 
tion waiting for us. The church is small, but very 
pretty, and in good taste. It is situated in a 
picturesque and peaceful spot near the river. The 
congregation was not large, but devout and 
orderly ; and all seemed to enter warmly into 
our simple but beautiful Consecration Service. We 

afterwards, all of us, assembled at Mr. G 's 

house on the banks of the river. It was a happy 

C 



'j 



1 8 My First Year in Canada. 

day for us, and a still happier perhaps for our good 
and generous hosts, through whose exertions, and 
that of their neighbours, the little church had been 
erected. 

Not one of our party was allowed to pay either 
for our voyage, or for our journey by rail. Such 
is the liberality one meets with in this country. 

A week later, I went a little higher up the 
river, being anxious to seize the opportunity of 
fine weather for visiting this portion of my 
Diocese. 

The Ottawa runs from north-west to south-east, 
uniting itself with the great St. Lawrence a few miles 
above Lachine. It is a splendid river of considerable 
width, but the navigation is occasionally impeded 
by rapids, so that the steamboat here and there 
leaves the river for a few miles of rail, or for a 
short canal. The scenery is generally picturesque, 
without reaching the standard of beauty : it lacks 
boldness and diversity of character. In the autumn 
however there is one feature peculiar to Canada, and 
very apparent here, namely, the crimson tint of 
the foliage. This effect is principally produced by 
the leaf of the maple-tree, which turns to a deeper 
and more vivid red than even our own Virginian 
Creeper. 

But the maple-tree, which abounds in this 
country, has another excellency. It produces in 
the spring a valuable sugar, which exudes from the 



Visitations about the Diocese, 19 

tree when tapped, and is much used in Canada. 
The maple sugar-season is quite an epoch in the 
year. It occurs in the early spring, when the first 
warm weather causes the sap to rise. An incision 
is then made in the bark, and the bleeding of the 
tree takes place. To make this operation per- 
fectly successful, two or three morning frosts are 
needed at this crisis, which greatly facilitate the 
flow of sugar, and improve its taste. The fluid is 
boiled, and afterwards becomes solid, in which state 
it is mostly used ; but it also makes a very pure 
and agreeable syrup. 

But to return to my Visitation tour. It was but 
a short one this time, and I was quite alone. My 
first point was St. Andrews, a village on the oppo- 
site side to Como, being the principal parish in this 
part of the Diocese, from which the Deanery bor- 
rows its name. 

At starting the day was wet, and I spent my 
time on board the steamer in preparing my sermon 
for the Cathedral on the following Sunday. We 
passed Como, which certainly had a less riant 
appearance than it had a week ago, caught a 
glimpse of the little church which will be ever dear 
to me as being the first-fruits of my Episcopal 
office, and reached St. Andrews about one o'clock. 
This place is only two miles distant from the river, 
and is one of the seven Rectories in the Diocese, 
constituted by royal patent. 



20 My First Year in Canada. 

The worthy rector, Mr. L , is the rural dean. 

A service was held that evening in his church, and, 
in spite of bad weather, about a hundred and 
thirty persons were present, and I preached to 
attentive hearers. 

Next morning, after breakfast, Mr. L drove 

me along a roughish road to Grenville ; I enjoyed 
my drive, though it was none of the smoothest. The 
constant glimpses of the Ottawa were very pretty, 
and my companion extremely agreeable. 

At Grenville we had Service on our arrival, and 
slept at the parsonage, the owner of which, Mr. 

N , is brother to one of my old Pluckley 

parishioners. 

At these Parsonages, which are less luxurious 
than those in England, one always meets with a 
most kind and warm reception. The clergy have 
usually but a very limited income, seldom exceed- 
ing 600 dollars, or 120/. sterling, and often 
less. Frequently their household concerns are 
carried on without the aid of a servant ; and even 
the horse, which is a needful appendage to a 
missionary's establishment, is looked after by the 
clergyman himself, or one of his family. 

After a short drive to the river, I proceeded 
alone by steamer to Ottawa. This mode of travel- 
ling is very agreeable both in good and bad 
weather. The vessels are clean, roomy, and conve- 
nient. The meals on board are nicely managed, 



Visitations aboitt the Diocese. 2 1 

and the food excellent. The proprietors and 
officials moreover are unusually civil and obliging. 
All this makes a day on board a pleasure instead of 
a weariness. 

We arrived late at Ottawa, where I was 

received by Mr. J , the Incumbent of Hull, 

which is in my Diocese, whereas Ottawa itself is 
in the Diocese of Ontario. There was a room full 
of ladies and gentlemen in the evening to meet 
me. 

The next morning there was Service at eleven 
o'clock at Hull. The little church is one of the 
prettiest in Canada, new and in excellent taste. 
There was a good congregation and a nice warm 
service. I preached as usual. We then returned 
to Ottawa, dined, and walked out to see the Houses 
of Parliament. 

Ottawa is strikingly situated on a rocky emi- 
nence, overhanging the river. The new Government 
buildings which crown the hill are a beautiful and 
substantial group, lately erected at a vast expense. 
The town itself is poor and unfinished. Indeed it 
will take years before it can present an appearance 
worthy of its position as the seat of the Dominion 
Government. 

In the afternoon Mr. J drove me to Aylmer, 

a distance of eight miles, along an excellent road. 
Here, again, a Service had been announced, and a 
fair congregation was assembled. Mr. S , the 



22 My First Year in Canada. 

incumbent, is a St. Augustine's man. After service 
we drove back to Ottawa, had some tea, and went 
to bed. 

At six o'clock next morning I was on board 
my favourite steamer on my return to Montreal, 
which I reached about five o'clock, having passed 
five very successful days. 

After a day's rest at Montreal, and preaching 
at the Cathedral, I started again on Monday, 
September 27th, on another short Confirmation 

tour with my chaplain, Mr. L -. The weather 

had become cold, and I was not feeling very well. 
The first place we visited was Hemmingford, which 
we reached by train, thirty miles from Montreal ; 

and there the rural dean, Mr. D , met us and 

joined us in our tour. The incumbent, Mr. M , 

was a young deacon who had formerly belonged 
to the Presbyterian Church. An open log-fire, a 
rather unusual luxury, greeted us on our arrival. 
This was no small comfort, and around it we 
gathered gladly. At night I suffered a great deal 
from the sudden change of the weather ; for it had 
become exceedingly cold. 

The Church was half a mile off, and thither we 
repaired in the morning, and found a good congre- 
gation, and twenty-five candidates. This was my 
first opportunity of performing the rite of Confirm- 
ation. I addressed them for a few minutes 



Visitations about the Diocese. 23 

before the laying on of hands ; and then invited 
the congregation to join me in silent prayer. I 
confirmed each one singly, coming up one by one, 
which had a solemn effect. And I then preached 
from St. Matthew, ix. 9. There was also an Adult 
Baptism, which was very striking in its connexion 
with Confirmation, and preparatory to it. 

It was my birthday, and I was greatly interested 
in this my first Confirmation, which I conducted 
ever after on nearly the same plan — addressing 
the candidates for five minutes before the question 
is put — having a very short, silent prayer — laying 
hands on each severally — and then, when the ser- 
vice is completed, preaching an unwritten sermon 
to the congregation generally, but more pointedly 
to the confirmed. 

After service, Mr. D drove me fifteen miles 

to Russel town, where I slept. I was very cold, 
but they kindly put up the winter stove, and made 
a fire in my bedroom. 

Next morning there was a Service at ten at 
Havelock, one of Mr. F 's churches, and twenty- 
five candidates. At Franklin, four miles on, we had 
a second service, but no Confirmation ; and I con- 
secrated the Burial-ground. We then returned to 
Mr. F 's house, where I passed a second night 

We proceeded in the morning to Hinching- 
brook. The road was considered to be a good 
one, but I thought it very rough ; and it certainly 



24 My First Year in Canada. 

tried the springs of our waggon and the strength of 
my back. At Hinchingbrook we had service, with 
twelve candidates — the congregation small. 

Another kind person drove us on to Huntingdon 
for afternoon Service. The readiness with which 
one is driven from place to place is very striking. 
No difficulty is ever raised, and no one seems to 
grudge the use of his carriage if he possesses one, 
but it is forthcoming as a matter of course ; and 
I have never on any tour found it necessary to 
hire a conveyance. It does indeed compensate for 
many inconveniences to meet with such invariable 
and freely offered goodwill on the part of both 
clergy and laity. 

At Huntingdon I found a nice little parsonage- 
house, furnished with great taste and comfort 
by Mr. and Mrs. E — . And here we had a 
crammed Church and thirty-five candidates. Two 
ladies had come from the States, twenty-five miles 
off, having read some of my books. A few of the 
leading parishioners assembled at the parsonage in 
the evening. 

The next day was the close of my present tour. 
About ten miles brought us to Durham, where 
we had a Confirmation at ten, in a tolerably filled 
church. There were twenty-seven candidates. 

After refreshing us with dinner, Mr. B , the 

incumbent, kindly drove us twenty-five miles 
along a jolting road to the Indian village of 



Visitations about the Diocese. 25 

Caughnawaga, from which we crossed the Ottawa, 
and reached home late at night. Our drive, though 
rough and long, was pleasant. It was over a good 
deal of what is called corduroy road, that is to 
say, a road formed by trees laid across as the 
foundation. This causes constant ridges like 
corduroy cloth, and there is a perpetual bumping, 
which cannot be avoided. Occasional holes in the 
road are bad enough ; but these unseen furrows, 
which are just concealed by the mud, are still more 
dislocating. 

Thus ended very happily my first Confirmation 
Tour. All was new to me, the services, the coun- 
try, the mode of travelling, &c. But I was most 
thankful to have accomplished it, and not a little 
rejoiced to reach home and find all well, and my- 
self none the worse for my journey and labours. 

After the refreshment of a quiet Sunday, and 
preaching at St. Stephen's to a crowded congrega- 
tion, I went next day, October the 4th, by the four 
o'clock train to Lacolle, a distance of forty miles, 

where Mr. L met me and took me to his 

parsonage. At one of the stations at which we 
stopped, a very old man, with silvery hair, came 
into the railway-carriage, lantern in hand, and 
asking me if I was the f Lord Bishop/ he said he 
had come to welcome me, having been himself 
eighty years in Canada. These little traits of 
courtesy and goodwill are something more than 



26 My First Year in Canada. 

mere formalities, and are cheering to a new comer 
into a strange land. 

Next morning we had our Confirmation service, 
and eighteen candidates, with a fair congregation, 
considering a deluge of rain. The evening train 
having been taken off, I was detained a second 
night at Lacolle. 

I returned to Montreal for a few hours, and was 
off again in the afternoon for St. Remi. The par- 
sonage being at a distance from the station, I was 

entertained by Mr. D , a wealthy farmer of the 

place, who, with his wife, showed me true kindness 
and hospitality, inviting three or four of their neigh- 
bours to meet me in the evening. 

The next morning, Mr. S , the clergyman, 

drove me to his little church (the smallest in the 
Diocese), where we had a thin congregation, and 
only two candidates. We then went on to the 

parsonage, which was close to Mr. S 's second 

church, where we had an afternoon service and four- 
teen candidates. I returned to Montreal the same 
evening, and reached my home at eleven o'clock, 
very tired. The rough roads, constant change of 
quarters, &c. are rather trying ; but all these are 
nothing when one is in the pleasant path of duty, 
and engaged in the service of a loving Master. 



27 



CHAPTER IV. 

A VISITATION TOUR HIGHER UP THE OTTAWA. 

On the day after my return from St. Remi, Oct. 9th, 
an event took place which caused a great sensation 
among the community of Montreal — the arrival of 
H.R.H. Prince Arthur, who had come to join his 
regiment, the Rifle Brigade, and to spend the 
winter in Canada. He was enthusiastically wel- 
comed by the Mayor and Corporation, and con- 
ducted to his residence amidst general rejoicing. 
I asked permission to pay my respects to him on 
the following day with the Dean, when we were 
graciously received by him. 

I may truly say that no person ever created 
more interest, made fewer enemies, and more real 
friends, than our young English Prince. The un- 
selfishness of his character, his desire to please, 
which was unceasing and not forced, the invariable 
uprightness of his conduct, his happy way of doing 
and saying always the right thing, made his 
presence like a sunbeam among us, and produced 
great happiness wherever he went. Both he and 
his suite made an impression during their stay in 



28 My First Year in Canada. 

Montreal which will never be effaced. In his 
household there was no display ; but a quiet, 
refined, and royal tone pervaded the whole of the 
arrangements. 

The next day, Saturday, I had a whole holiday. 
On Sunday I preached at the Cathedral and at St. 
James's ; and on Monday, October I ith, I left home 
with my wife on another expedition up the Ottawa, 
with a view of going higher up the river this time, 
and visiting three stations at the further extent of 
my Diocese to the north-east. 

The day was delightful, the tints most lovely, 
and the steamer very comfortable. My good 

friend, Mr. L— , the rural dean, joined us at 

Carillon, and remained with us for four days. We 
reached Ottawa in the evening, but pushed on to 
Aylmer, where we slept, as the Upper Ottawa boat 
starts from thence. 

Tuesday, October 12th, we left at seven for 
Onslow ; but to our dismay, instead of finding a 
nice, clean, comfortable vessel, we had to put up 
with a dirty little tug-boat, rigged out for the 
occasion, as the regular packet was undergoing a 
thorough refitting for Prince Arthur, who was ex- 
pected in these parts in a day or two. This de- 
tracted somewhat from the comfort of our voyage. 

When on the Ottawa the scene is often enli- 
vened by the appearance of a huge raft which 



A Visitation Tour higher up the Ottawa. 29 

comes in sight. These rafts bring down the sawn 
timber from the mills at Ottawa and elsewhere, 
which is eventually shipped either for England or 
for the United States. They are of an enormous 
size, and are composed of timber bound together 
by clamps of wood into a solid stage, and generally 
so constructed as to be subdivided into two or 
three compartments, in case of a storm. On one of 
these rafts are sometimes erected four or five 
wooden houses, the dwellings of the raftsmen. 
These floating islands drop down the stream, and 
are guided by long oars. The lumber of which 
they are composed has probably travelled some 
hundred miles from the forest in the interior. 

The life of the shanty-men, who fell the timber, 
is a very peculiar one. Being engaged by the 
lumber merchants, they go up in the month of 
October or November in regular gangs to certain 
localities in the Bush, previously untrodden by the 
feet of men. There they establish themselves 
during the long winter ; and the trees which they 
fell are dragged out over the snow by oxen or 
horses, and then floated down the river to the saw- 
mills. 

These hardy men meet with many privations ; 
but they live well, having plenty of good beef and 
pork to support them. They are restricted, how- 
ever, from the use of spirits, and indulge in no 
stronger drink than tea, with an abundance of 



30 My First Year in Canada. 

which they are liberally supplied ; and the quality, 
I am told, is excellent. 

The shanties are temporary wooden buildings, 
each one holding from twenty to thirty persons. 
They are divided into two compartments — the 
one for cooking, and the other for eating and sleep- 
ing ; the latter being usually furnished with two 
tiers of berths. 

An occasional Missionary visits these shanties, 
attracted there by a desire to carry the glad and 
welcome tidings of the Gospel ; and if he comes in 
a right spirit, he is pretty sure to meet with a kind 
and warm reception. Three of our Clergy have 
volunteered to devote a week or two to this self- 
denying service in the coming winter. But I hope 
the time will come when our Church will be able to 
employ two regular travelling Missionaries, whose 
time shall be entirely occupied in going from shanty 
to shanty during the winter months. We need 
special funds for the purpose ; but I cannot help 
trusting that the means will be supplied for so 
blessed an object. 

We landed at Onslow about ten o'clock, a pretty 
missionary station amidst the woods. The clergy- 
man was Mr. B , who had visited us at Pluckley 

before leaving England. He and a brother clergy- 
man received us at the landing-place, and drove us 
to the parsonage. Service was at three o'clock, 
but rain had come on, and greatly thinned our 



A Visitation Tour higher up the Ottawa. 3 1 

congregation. There were only five candidates. 
On the same evening we had a Missionary Meeting 
at seven o'clock. 

These missionary meetings are very unlike ours 
in England. In the first place, tfyey are usually 
held in the Churches, for want of room elsewhere. 
And then the object is not so much missionary work 
among the heathen, as the support of the Church 
in the Diocese. This causes a little flatness, and a 
lack of that stirring life and interest, which marks 
some of our Parish missionary gatherings at home. 
I cannot but think that our Church in Canada, 
needy as she is, would have a larger blessing if 
she did more for our brethren in distant lands. 

We left next morning early, October 13th, in 

Mr. R 's waggon for Clarendon, a distance of 

sixteen miles. The drive interested us a good deal, 
as the scene was new to us, the country through 
which we passed being only half cleared. Of this 
kind of country we have had many specimens since. 
We passed through some miles of pure Bush or 
natural wood-land, the trees being chiefly maple, 
pine, ash, and hemlock, the bark of which latter is 
greatly used here for tanning purposes. Then at 
intervals we came to an open space with a Log 
House erected in it by some recent settler. The 
clearances are made either by cutting down the 
trees, or, more commonly, by burning them. But 
the stumps are allowed to remain about three feet 



32 My First Year in Canada. 

above the ground, presenting the appearance of a 
huge graveyard. The custom is to leave these 
stumps for several years till they are fairly rotted, 
as the expense of grubbing them in their sound 
state would be ruinous. My wife much enjoyed 
the drive, and I should have enjoyed it too, for 
our friends were very pleasant and agreeable, and 
we had two good horses which carried us along 
famously, but I was a little out of order, and the 
morning was chilly. Halfway however we got my 
indian-rubber foot-warmer filled at a cottage, which 
nearly set me right again. 

When we arrived at Clarendon, the Church-bell 
had been ringing for some little time, and the 
people were all assembled for service. The church 
has little to recommend it ; but the largeness and 
earnestness of the congregation made up for all 
that was wanting, and our hearts were warmed and 
our spirits cheered by the hearty service. Fifty- 
two were presented for Confirmation, several of 
whom were grown-up persons ; and this is often the 
case in Canada. 

In the evening we had a Missionary Meeting, 
which partook of the same character as that on 
the previous evening. In each case the Clergy 
were all in surplices, and spoke from the Chancel. 

October 14. — Off at nine o'clock for Portage du 
Fort. A ' Portage ' is, properly speaking, a road 
by the river's side, where there is a rapid. But it is 



A Visitation Tour higher tip the Ottawa. 33 

often used, I believe, for other roads as well. 
Our party had now swelled to the number of ten 
persons, namely, my wife and self, Mr. and Mrs. 

R and others of their family, Mr. L , our 

rural dean, and Mr. K , a clergyman from 

Thorne. An agreeable drive through a half-cleared 
country, much like that of yesterday, brought us to 
Portage du Fort. Here again the people were 
all assembled, but the congregation was small. 
There were thirteen candidates for Confirmation. 
It was rather a mixed service, as I had appointed 
the day as a general Harvest Thanksgiving day 
throughout the Diocese before I had arranged my 
Visitation tour. This interfered somewhat with the 
distinctness of the service. Mr. G — ■ — , I grieve to 
say, has since left the parish and Diocese for a post 
in the States. 

Soon after daybreak our kind host and hostess, 
and the rural dean, walked down with us to the 
river, and there left us on board our steamer. 
Again we had to put up with an inferior boat, the 
regular one being detained for the Prince, who 
had meanwhile gone a little higher up the river. 
But our Captain was most civil and obliging, and 
gave us up his nice airy cabin on deck, which 
was a refreshing change from the saloon below. 
A part of this journey was performed in a some- 
what novel manner. Half-way between Portage 
and Onslow is a rapid over which the steamer 

D 



34 My First Year in Canada, 

cannot pass. This interval is supplied by a 
wooden railway. Over this line, which is three 
miles long, we were drawn by two horses tandem. 
In portions of it, the little railway spans a deep 
ravine, and as there is no parapet fence, it was 
rather a strain upon one's nerves. However they 
assured us that never yet had a single accident 
occurred ; and so we were content. 

On reaching Aylmer, Mr. J met us, and 

drove us to his house at Ottawa. As however 
we were to make an early start on the following 
morning, we thought it wiser to sleep on board, 
and were quite glad to find ourselves once more 
in our favourite steamer. The next day we de- 
scended the river, and reached home in good time 
the same evening. 

Our trip had now come to a happy close, and 
it was time that we should cease our travellings 
for the present year. The weather was fine, but it 
had become cold, and there was a taste of autumn 
in the air. 

It is clear that more Clergymen are needed 
in the district of the Upper Ottawa. The present 
staff is overtaxed, and is not sufficient to occupy 
the ground open to us, and these few are miserably 
paid. Additional men are wanted, and more 
money. I am determined, if possible, to obtain the 
latter, and God will, I believe, provide the former 
to meet our requirements. 



A Visitation Tour higher up the Ottawa. 35 

I made with my wife yet one more excursion, 
and then we shut up for the winter. This was 
to Dunham, where I was anxious to attend a 
Ruri-decanal meeting. 

We started on Saturday, October 23rd, in a 
torrent of rain from the Montreal station for 

Stanbridge, where Mr. S , the rural dean, sent 

his brougham to meet us, a luxurious mode of 
conveyance not often met with here. But, alas, 
we discovered, on leaving the train, that our 
luggage had been left behind at St. John's ! And 
how could a Bishop show himself on Sunday 
without his Episcopal attire ? There was no other 
train due before Monday morning. However we 
telegraphed ; and fortune favoured us, for there 
happened to be a special freight train just starting, 
which brought us our lost luggage, and gladdened 
our hearts. I preached at Bedford in the morning, 
and at Frelighsburg, ten miles off, in the evening, 
sleeping at Mr. D 's rectory. 

Next morning, 25th, we went on to Dunham, 
where about twenty clergymen were assembled, 
and fourteen churchwardens. The meeting took 
place in the underground basement of the church, 
which was warmed nearly to boiling heat. The 
Rural Dean was in the chair. The meeting lasted 
about three hours, when we adjourned for tea and 
evening service. 

There was vigour in this meeting, and more 



36 My First Year in Canada. 

than an average measure of intelligence, but a 
painful lack of gentleness and moderation among 
the speakers, which marred its effect. In the 
evening I preached on the love of Christ. There 
was a church full of people, and the service was 
very calming. 

I woke next morning with a terrible cold, 
which had been coming on for some days. This 
was not improved by the snow which we found 
upon the ground on looking out of our window, 
nor by an early walk to church, where we received 
the Holy Communion together. This however was 
a blessed preparation for our adjourned meeting 
after breakfast, when a much better spirit showed 
itself, and such a Christian tone as made me leave 
Dunham with feelings of thankfulness. We re- 
turned to Bedford, had some tea at Mr. S 's, 

and got home to Montreal by ten o'clock. 

The chief subjects discussed at the meeting 
were the mode of raising funds for our Church 
work, and the best means of dealing with the 
younger members of our body, which latter sub- 
ject led to the formation of an organised Church 
Association for the various parishes in the diocese. 

The Ruri-decanal system was also a subject 
that cropped up two or three times at the meeting. 
I find the office of Rural Dean somewhat unpopular 
in the Diocese, and especially in these parts. But 
being an important organisation in the Church, and 



A Visitation Tour higher up the Ottawa. 37 

one that is likely to be very helpful to myself, I 
feel unwilling hastily to abandon it. I have there- 
fore somewhat modified the system by requesting 
the clergy in the several deaneries to nominate 
for my approval one of their own choice, and also 
by limiting the term of office to three years, and, 
further, by carefully defining the rural dean's 
powers. With these changes I trust that the 
system will yet work well, and prove useful in 
the Diocese. It is surely very important that 
any changes which may be needful in the various 
missions should pass through the local board 
of the deanery, and receive their sanction, before 
being finally adopted ; and if a rural deanery is 
necessary, there must be an officer at the head 
of it. 

Though pleased with our visit to the eastern 
townships, we were thankful to get home, for 
there was a decided change in the weather, and 
it was time to get into our winter shell. If the 
reader has grown tired of my travels, he may 
console himself by knowing that I was fairly tired 
out also. 



38 



CHAPTER V. 

SHORT TRIPS IN COLD WEATHER. 

DURING November, and the five following months, 
I considered myself debarred from regular Visi- 
tations in the Diocese on account of the weather. 
I was able however to make an occasional short 
expedition, and chiefly by railroad. 

One of them was a visit to Chambly, where 

Mr. W , who had been my fellow -labourer 

at Pluckley up to the time of my coming out 
to Canada, had lately accepted a post ; and I 
was anxious to see the nature of his charge, and 
to become acquainted with his flock. I went to 
inaugurate a course of weekly Advent services. 
We slept one night there, and a bitter night it 

was, at the house of General W , one of his 

kind and hospitable parishioners : the thermometer 
was much below zero. I found the congregation 
small, the place having known better days when 
it was a military station. 

Ten days later, December nth, I made a 
tedious railway journey of six hours to Lennoxville, 
to attend a Corporation meeting at the College. 



Short Trips in Cold Weather. 39 

The Building is handsome and in excellent taste, 
and it has every advantage which the healthiness 
and beauty of its position can give. But both 
the College, and also the School attached to it, 
have lately been in a depressed state, and much 
need a revival. The chief reason why the Insti- 
tution has lost the confidence of Churchmen here, 
is that it has earned the character (somewhat 
unjustly perhaps) of nurturing extreme opinions 
in its students. This however there is at present 
a great desire to rectify. At the time of my visit 
the Rector of the school was on the point of 
leaving, and another has been since appointed, 
who is likely to give general confidence, and to 
restore the school to the popularity it certainly 
deserves. 

At the College a good classical education is 
given, and degrees are conferred. A theological 
department is also connected with it. But its 
distance from Montreal is a great disadvantage ; 
and as a Training Institution for our students it is 
therefore not satisfactory. It is just within the 
Quebec Diocese, the Bishop and myself being joint 
visitors. 

The next day was given to business ; and there 
was a large party at the Rector's in the evening. 

On the following morning Dr. N , the Principal, 

drove me to Sherbrook, where I attended an 
important missionary meeting, the Bishop of 



40 My First Year in Canada, 

Quebec in the chair. The Town-hall was completely 
full, and the meeting interesting. They received 
me most kindly ; but I fear that many must have 
been a little disappointed by the tameness and 
meagreness of my address. 

After a very wearying railway journey, the 
train being constantly impeded by the snow, I 
reached Montreal six hours after time ! The cars 
are usually heated to a fearful temperature by 
a stove at either end, and scarcely any escape is 
allowed for the vitiated air. For this reason 
I much dislike Canadian railway travelling in 
winter. 

Later in January I passed a Sunday at 
St. John's, once a garrisoned town, and still a 
place of some importance, about twenty-five miles 
from Montreal. My wife accompanied me. St. 
John's and six other places in the Diocese were 
constituted rectories by Royal Patent in the 
reign of George III. They still retain their rank, 
but enjoy no other advantages arising from their 
dignified nomenclature, except it be that the nomi- 
nation of the clergyman is with the parishioners, 
subject to the approval of the Bishop. 

Mr. D , the rector, greeted us at the station, 

and had a large party of his parishioners to meet 
us in the evening. This plan gives one an ex- 
cellent opportunity of becoming acquainted with 



Short Trips in Cold Weather. 41 

the Church people in the different parishes, and 
they seem much to like it. 

We had a wet Sunday, but good congregations 
both here and also at Christieville, a pretty village 
over the river, where we went for afternoon Service. 
At the latter place the church was crowded, many 
having come from St. John's, where the Service 
was suspended for the occasion. 

Next day, January 24th, we went to Sebrevois, 
a missionary Institution, ten miles from St. John's. 

Mr. M, drove us in his comfortable sleigh 

and pair, and Mr. M'G and a large party 

followed. The country is rather low, and had been 
completely flooded ; the consequence was that the 
road was one continuous sheet of ice, over which 
our sleighs glided most joyously. As an evidence 
of the severity of the weather, I observed, as we 
went along, that a fringe of ice had formed upon 
the eyelashes of one of our fair companions. 

Sebrevois is supported partly by the Colonial 
Church Society, and partly by local subscriptions ; 
and has been, and still is, extremely useful. It is 
in the midst of a French-speaking population ; and 
consists of a large school, containing about fifty 
boys and girls, chiefly French Canadians, a few of 
whom are Roman Catholics. There is also a 
church which is a rallying point for the few Pro- 
testants in the neighbourhood. I subsequently 
confirmed twenty-eight persons, and was greatly 



42 My First Year in Canada. 

pleased with the intelligence and Christian spirit 
which evidently prevailed there. 

We had Morning Service; the Litany being 
read in French ; the singing half French and half 
English ; and my sermon, which of course was 
English, although understood by most of the audi- 
ence, was repeated in French by Mr. L , at 

least the substance of it. We afterwards dined at 
the simple parsonage — about twenty of us — and 
then returned to St. John's, and home to Montreal, 
thanking God for what we had seen and heard. 
The expedition had been a satisfactory one, and 
we had enjoyed it much. 

Early in the following month I had engaged 
myself to be at Waterloo, but was forced to put off 
my visit by telegram, on account of the inclemency 
of the weather, and the drifts of snow which had 
blocked up the line of railway. 

I started however a few days later, hearing that 

the line was clear. The two Mr. L s met me 

on my arrival, and we hastened off to church, for 
which I was a little late, in consequence of the 
stoppage of the train. There was a capital congre- 
gation in a most unecclesiastical-looking building, 
which I am happy to say they are soon to vacate 
for a handsome Church, which the parishioners are 
building at a considerable cost and with much 
taste. On my return to the parsonage I found the 



Short Trips in Cold Weather. 43 

house filled with about forty visitors, who had been 
invited to meet me. There is something very 
primitive and genial in these gatherings of the 
church people around their Bishop, and it makes 
one feel that the Office is appreciated. 

The next day was bright and beautiful ; but the 
thermometer was lower than on any day in the 
winter — nearly thirty degrees below zero. It is 
remarkable how little one feels this excessive cold, 
so long as there is an absence of wind. The dry- 
ness of the air makes it bearable. 

In the afternoon we drove to South Stukeley, 
where we had an Evening Service, to which the 
people were summoned without much notice. I of 
course preached according to invariable custom. 
Indeed, I have done so at every service that I 
have attended on my tours, with one exception : 
and I am sometimes almost a marvel to myself, 
preaching for two or three days successively with- 
out any great fatigue. I never could have done 
this in England ; but God has strengthened me 
for the work He has given me to do. He does 
indeed fit the back for the burden it has to 
carry. 

Our drive back to Waterloo was very pleasant. 
It was a thorough Canadian night, the moon and 
stars wondrously bright, and the snow perfectly 

clean and white. Mr. A , the Incumbent, is a 

good man ; but in very weak health, and greatly 



44 My First Year in Canada. 

needing rest. He and his wife suffer many priva- 
tions, chiefly resulting from insufficiency of salary, 
and from the difficulty in this country of getting a 
servant. This is no solitary case among the clergy ; 
and for their uncomplaining and cheerful accept- 
ance of this state of things one cannot but greatly 
admire them. 

I returned home by train next morning to 
Montreal. A very early start was needful ; and 
my kind hostess, knowing my chilly nature, and 
mindful of my comfort, took good care that I 
should not leave her roof cold or breakfastless. 
Long before dawn I was awakened by a white 
figure flitting noiselessly into my room with hot 
coals and wood ; and in a few short seconds, before, 
as she hoped, I could wake up, she had lighted my 
fire and disappeared. She little knew that, in the 
kindness of her heart, she had effectually roused 
me, and had thus shortened my night's rest, though 
she had certainly won my warmest gratitude. 

Two more excursions were made this winter. 
One of these was to Mascouche, which is a vil- 
lage about twenty-five miles from Montreal, on 
Saturday, February 13th. This time, also, I had 

the comfort of my wife's company. Mr. G , the 

clergyman of Mascouche, came to fetch us in his 
sleigh. On leaving our house we met the Prince 
taking one of his early drives to the Barracks. It 



Short Trips in Cold Weather. 45 

was always a pleasure to meet him, and he had 
a genial word or two to help us on our journey. 
We stopped at St. Vincent de Paul on our way, 
where we dined, and I held a Confirmation for the 
prisoners in the Reformatory. At the time of my 
visit, there were 1 30 in the Prison, a small minority 
of whom were Protestants, under the care of Mr. 

A , the Chaplain. I inspected the building 

with the Warden, who kindly lionized me over it, 
and showed me great civility. The convicts were 
ranged in the yard for our review, and I was much 
struck with their appearance, for crime had sadly 
left its stamp on most of their countenances. Six 
were presented for Confirmation. I spoke kindly 
to them, and felt much for them, knowing that if 
any of them were at all impressed for good they 
would indeed stand a poor chance among such 
companions. 

We had about twelve miles on to Mascouche, 
over a bleak country with snow and high wind in 
our faces. However, we arrived safe and sound at 

Mr. G 's parsonage, where a little party met us, 

consisting of the Squire of the place, Mr. P , and 

his wife, and Mr. and Mrs. B , who had lately 

come from England, and established themselves 
there. 

The next day was Sunday, and a bright, clear, 
cold day it was, the snow lying thick and crisp upon 
the ground. We had a nice Morning Service, and 



46 My First Year in Canada. 

in the Afternoon we went to Terrebonne church, a 
simple wooden building six miles off. 

On Monday we had planned a longish expedi- 
tion, to visit the Missions of New Glasgow, twelve 
miles off, and Kilkenny eight miles beyond. A 
fall of snow however alarmed the ladies, and they 

stayed behind. Mr. P drove us in his tandem 

sleigh, and a most severe drive we had ; so much 
so, that we were forced to abandon all thoughts 
of getting beyond New Glasgow. We had service 
there, and I preached as well as I was able, my 
teeth chattering with cold. The church is dreary 
and barn-like, and the Mission in rather a broken 

and forlorn condition. After dining at Mr. G 's, 

one of the Churchwardens, we again mounted our 
sleighs. The snow was deep, and the road but 
indistinctly marked, so that for a great part of the 
way we were forced to travel at a foot's pace. 

On the whole, it was the roughest and most 
trying expedition that I have made. The scene 
was very striking, with a sheet of snow on all sides ; 
and the sleigh and our fur robes made it thoroughly 
Canadian. The fact however of the Bishop driving 
up to the church-door in a tandem, was thought 
nothing of in this land of sleighs, and snow, and 
necessities. Had it not been for my admirable 
fur coat and cap, the gifts of my dear Sisters in 
England, also a thick cape and a capuchin hood 
over all, with my wife's ' Cloud' closely covering 



Short Trips in Cold Weather. 47 

my face, and acting as a respirator, I could not 
have borne the cold. The skill too of our charioteer 
made me feel quite safe. 

We dined that evening with Mr. P , who 

sent his Traineau to fetch us, and to take us back 
to the parsonage. These traineaux, which are in- 
tended only to carry wood, are capital rustic 
conveyances for a party. They are capable of 
holding almost an unlimited number ; there are 
no seats, all being obliged to stand, and hold on as 
best they can. We much enjoyed our short drive, 
as the night was beautiful and the weather warmer. 

Mr. P drove us the next day in his comfortable 

sleigh, with good horses, to Montreal. Mr. G 

and Mr. and Mrs, B accompanying us as far 

as Terrebonne. 

My last winter Visitation of any importance was 
a four days' tour, on which I started by train at 
seven o'clock on Saturday, March 5th. I left home 
with rather a heavy heart ; but the day was bright 

and fine. Mr. S , a layman, met me at the 

station, and went with me as far as St. Hyacinthe, 
where we had a [Missionary Meeting, he and I being 
the only speakers. He then left me ; and I w r ent on 

by train to Acton, where I slept at Mr. W 's 

parsonage. Mr. H , a farmer, from Boscobel, 

had come to meet me, according to his kind pro- 
mise, and to convey me next morning to the 



48 My First Year in Canada. 

Mission in which he is interested, consisting of 
Boscobel, North Ely, and Roxton Falls. This 
Mission was at the time without a pastor, and 
he had urged me so strongly to visit it, that I 
could not refuse, though I rather dreaded the 
journey. 

Early on Sunday morning, Mr. H was at 

the door with his sleigh, and we drove together to 
North Ely, a bad road, through a rough and only 
partially cleared country. He had two little Cana- 
dian horses. These are most serviceable animals, 
and just suited to the rough roads and inclement 
weather ; they are very active, sure-footed, and 
endurant, and will stand bekig tied up in any cold 
place, according to the custom of the country. 
They are about fourteen hands high, and rather 
ungainly in their appearance, with narrow chests ; 
but they trot away at a famous pace, and are very 
handy and understanding, being treated quite as 
friends of the family. The harness is usually of 
rather an uncared-for type, but light and useful. 

Mr. W , the Acton clergyman, most kindly 

followed in his sleigh, in order to assist me in the 
service. 

After a pretty good jolting along a road of four- 
teen miles, we suddenly turned a corner in the 
midst of the Bush, and came upon a most pic- 
turesque scene. There was the humble school- 
house in which our service was to be held, with 



Short Trips in Cold Weather. 49 

about twenty sleighs and horses all round it, and 
the greater part of the congregation assembled at 
the door in their buffalo coats and furs, ready for 
the Service. Some of the horses were tied to posts 
or trees, and some perfectly loose, but standing 
most quietly until they were required. It snowed 
a little, but the day was not cold. Our horses 
shared with the rest, being tied up without the 
slightest shelter, after their three hours' drive. 
The whole scene outside the school-house had the 
appearance of a fair. 

On entering the room I found a scorching stove, 
and the temperature up to about 70 ; and as there 
were double windows, and no aperture for the 
ingress of fresh air, and the place was crammed 
full, I began to fear lest we should be stifled. So, 
after making a few signals of distress, I got them 
to open the door and give our lungs a chance. 
The good people had decorated the school with 
fir-boughs and strips of coloured paper, so that it 
had the appearance of a series of German trees. 

Mr. W , who knew the congregation to be a 

motley one, made up of all denominations, wisely 
brought with him a number of Prayer-books, and 
gave out the page when he passed from one prayer 
to another. Thus we had a nice, simple, earnest 
service ; and I preached from St. John, iii. 3, 
cheering them with the assurance that I would 
do my best to find them a clergyman, which I 

E 



50 My First Year in Canada. 

have since done. I humbly hope that God may 
have blest my words. 

Mr. W then left me for his own Evening 

Service; and Mr. H drove me on to his 

home, eight miles off, where we dined. In the 
evening we had another Service at Boscobel, 
Mr. L , from Waterloo, having at some incon- 
venience come over to help us. Mr. O , a lay- 
Reader and a good man, was for the time in charge 
of the Mission. 

My host drove me next morning back to 
Acton, a distance of twelve miles : and from 
thence I went to Upton, and on to Lennoxville 
on College business. 

My visit to Ely and Boscobel was very satis- 
factory, as it gave me an insight into one of our 
roughest Missions, and the people had expressed 

a great wish to have me among them. Mr. H , 

at whose house I slept, is a well-to-do farmer, who 
came out to Canada some thirty years ago. By 
his shrewdness and energy he has risen in the 
world, and has now a nice house and a consider- 
able property, living in quite a patriarchal manner 
with his children and grandchildren all gathered 
around him. To each of his sons he has given a 
piece of land, which they work themselves. He 
has also living under his roof a faithful old servant, 
who has been with him twenty years, and is con- 
tent to labour on with his master, although he has 



Short Trips in Cold Weather. 51 

saved enough to make himself independent. When 
in England he had been a travelling musician, and 
had given way to intemperance ; but during the 
twenty years of his Canadian life he has been a 
sober and respectable man, as well as a most 
faithful helper to his master. 

On the morning of my departure from Mr. 

H 's we breakfasted at seven ; and the mother 

and three sons appeared in their ordinary working 
dress. The father had specially desired this, he 
told me ; for though he wished to do honour to his 
guest, he wanted to show me how they lived, and 
that work was the rule with all. 

I was glad, as I always am, to reach home, and 
specially glad to have accomplished such a feat as 
a winter visit to Ely and Boscobel, and felt myself 
none the worse for all the bumping, and jolting 
and other experiences to which I had been subject 



52 



CHAPTER VI. 

A WINTER IN MONTREAL. 

I HARDLY know a pleasanter place in which to 
pass the winter months than Montreal. Its cheer- 
fulness, and at the same time its quietness — 
for, instead of the rumbling of carriages along the 
streets, they glide noiselessly over the snow — its 
many appliances to keep out the cold — the kind- 
ness of its inhabitants — the facilities for moving 
about, &c. — all make it a charming place of resi- 
dence in the winter. We were living in a most 
comfortable and convenient house in Drummond 
Street, which had been provided for us by some 
generous members of our Church ; and here the 
time passed as happily as it could in the absence 
of those beloved ones whose companionship we 
sorely missed. I had now a good deal of quiet 
time for gathering up the arrears of work, w T hich a 
year without a Bishop had accumulated in the 
Diocese, and also of becoming acquainted with the 
clergy and congregations in the city of Montreal. 

There are nine churches in the town : most of 
them in a prosperous condition ; and certainly 



A Winter in Montreal. 5 3 

the staff of clergy is above the ordinary standard 
both in point of earnestness and power. My inter- 
est was of course in the Cathedral primarily ; but 
the other churches also had a strong claim upon 
me. In the former I held my first Ordination, con- 
sisting of three persons, who were admitted to the 
Order of Deacons. This was a very solemn time ; 
but the actual ceremony was in a measure spoilt 
by the peculiar inconvenience of the structure for 
such a Service ; so much so, that I felt it would 
be better to hold the three following Ordinations 
in other churches. 

As I found a deficiency of labourers in the 
Diocese, I was thankful for this accession of three 
promising men to our ranks. My present desire is 
rather to raise than to lower the standard of minis- 
terial acquirements, feeling that the greatness of 
the work and the advance of education demand it. 

The congregations in our city Churches are 
generally good, and the services well ordered. 
There is a Sunday-school attached to each church; 
and some of these are excellently managed and 
numerously attended. At the two largest the 
numbers amount to five and six hundred. These 
schools are in some instances held in the basements 
of the churches, in a large room almost under- 
ground. They are attended by all classes, even 
the highest, and the number of teachers is large. 
On one day in the winter all these Sunday-schools 



54 My First Year in Canada. 

assembled in St. George's Church, and I preached 
to them. The Service was especially interesting ; 
and my feeling was that I had seldom addressed a 
more important congregation. 

There is also an abundance of Charitable In- 
stitutions at Montreal — Hospitals, Church Homes, 
Friendly Societies, &c, and all well managed. St. 
George's society, St. Andrew's, and St. Patrick's, 
lay themselves out to receive poor emigrants on 
their arrival in Canada ; also to be generally useful 
to their countrymen, and to keep up a national 
feeling amongst them. 

I have scarcely ever seen a beggar in the streets 
of Montreal, or in the country. There is a great 
absence of poverty, except perhaps among the 
lowest French population. Of course, there are no 
Poor-Laws or Unions here ; but there are several 
charitable Refuges, in which the needy and friend- 
less are cared for. And among the Roman Catho- 
lics especially there are many Institutions on an 
enormous scale. 

Besides the several fine churches belonging to 
our own Communion, which would be an ornament 
to any town, there are handsome buildings 
belonging to other denominations. Between the 
various sections of the Protestant Church there 
exists a friendly rivalry, but an absence of that 
bitterness which sometimes disgraces the members 
of differing religious bodies. We, who are Church- 



A Winter in Montreal. 5 5 

men, are decided Churchmen, perhaps even more so 
than in England ; but we honour the feelings of 
those who conscientiously differ from us, though 
we are persuaded that they would be great gainers 
by joining our ranks ; and earnestly long for the 
time when ' there shall be one Lord, and His 
name one.' 

The Roman Catholics are by far the most 
numerous body, and have some fine churches, 
though not strictly in harmony with our English 
tastes. Happily there is at present a kindly 
feeling between the Roman Catholics and Pro- 
testants, each pursuing their own course without 
molesting the other. And it is well that it should 
be so, for little would indeed be gained on either 
side if controversy and contention were the order 
of the day. As a Reformed Church, we desire, by 
God's help, to hold our own, and i contend ear- 
nestly for the faith once delivered to the saints/ 
But we wish at the same time to speak the truth 
in love, carefully avoiding all bitterness and harsh- 
ness of language, which only wounds without 
healing. 

But now — to speak more generally of the state 
of things at Montreal — the whole city is at this 
season in its winter's dress. The roofs of the 
houses, and also the streets, are covered with 
snow from the beginning of December to the end 



56 My First Year in Canada. 

of April — five long months. In the majority of 
the streets, no attempt is made to remove it from 
the wooden side-walks ; but it becomes beaten 
down, and makes a solid footpath. Sometimes the 
walking is very bad, and almost dangerous, so 
that elderly gentlemen, like myself, are glad to 
put on l creepers,' which are something like the 
spikes which are attached to cricket shoes, or to 
the 'crampons/ which are used in Switzerland 
for crossing the glaciers. However, the people at 
Montreal are not much given to walking ; and 
last winter Mrs. Oxenden and myself were about 
the most persevering pedestrians in the place : 
and this, I am sure, contributed not a little to 
our health. 

The sleighs, darting about from street to street, 
are most picturesque. Some of them are very 
handsomely got up, with an abundance of furs and 
other trappings. The motion is most agreeable, 
and the pace delightful ; and even in the keenest 
weather, provided there is a tolerable absence of 
wind, one suffers little from cold. A fur coat, and 
cap with ear-pads, completely protect one. We 
have sometimes been out at night in an open 
sleigh, when the thermometer has been consider- 
ably below zero, without feeling it so much as an 
ordinary cold night in England. They usually 
hold four persons, and being almost on the ground, 
and most of them without doors, one steps in and 



A Winter in Montreal. 57 

out with the greatest ease. The hired sleighs, of 
which there are plenty, are clean and good, and 
the owners take a pride in the robes with which 
they are provided. Most people keep a sleigh of 
their own ; but we were an exception, and found- 
but little inconvenience. One has occasionally to 
satisfy oneself that one's nose and ears are all 
right, as they are sometimes frozen before the pos- 
sessor is at all aware of his condition. Ordinary 
precautions however are sufficient to prevent such 
a catastrophe. 

The roofs of the houses and the Church-spires 
are often of zinc, and their appearance is very 
dazzling and pretty. But in the country wooden 
shingles are generally used, and are very service- 
able, lasting about five-and-twenty years, and keep- 
ing out the wet and cold extremely well. Few 
objects are more striking than a country church 
with a zinc spire glittering in the noon-day sun. 

I know not how it is, but there are more con- 
flagrations in Canada than elsewhere. A fire at 
Montreal is a thing of weekly occurrence, and even 
more so at Quebec. There is an admirable Fire 
Brigade ; and the whole system is perfect in its 
arrangements. There are telegraphic wires, which 
communicate between all parts of the town and 
the engine-stations, and the supply of water is 
excellent. The plan of operations is this : when a 
fire breaks out, some one immediately runs to the 



58 My First Year in Canada. 

nearest telegraphic box, of which there are more 
than one in each street, and having procured the 
key which is known to be deposited in an adjoining 
house, the box is opened, and a little button pre- 
sents itself, which, being pulled, conveys the alarm, 
by means of the telegraphic wire, to the Engine- 
house. There the horses are kept harnessed, and 
a body of men are always in readiness, so that in 
the course of a few minutes the engine is at the 
door of the house in danger. In the country, large 
tracts of woodland are sometimes on fire for days 
together, and it is very difficult to extinguish them ; 
but of this I shall speak further in another chapter. 
I have said that Prince Arthur was in Montreal 
during this winter. His Royal Highness might be 
seen day after day driving his phaeton and pair 
down to the Barracks after an early breakfast, or 
walking home a couple of miles in the afternoon. 
There was no parade about his movements, but all 
was natural, and yet most correct and princelike. 
His presence among us added not a little to the 
enjoyment of all. Twice he honoured us by being 
present at an evening reception at our house, which 
enabled us to entertain all our kind friends, to the 
number of some hundreds, who had given us so 
cordial and hearty a welcome. The Prince shone 
much on such occasions, being full of kindness, 
and showing always that good breeding for which 
England is remarkable. 



A Winter in Montreal. 59 

The Skating Rink is a great winter feature in 
this city, and to this the Prince paid almost a daily 
visit. It is a very large and handsome building, 
the flooring of which is a smooth sheet of ice, 
constantly renewed by the inlet of a flood of 
water: Here hundreds of persons may be seen 
skating every day, and especially in the afternoon, 
among whom are some of the best skaters in the 
world, of both sexes. 

We went there on one grand occasion, when 
every skater wore a fancy costume. It was one of 
the most beautiful sights I ever beheld. The place 
was hung with the gayest flags, most tastefully 
arranged : it was splendidly lighted, and filled with 
skaters in their fancy dresses, and lookers-on. 
The Prince invited us, and also the Bishop of 
Quebec and Mrs. Williams, who were with us at 
the time, to his gallery, from whence we had 
a delightful bird's-eye view of all that was going 
on. It was indeed a fairy scene to look upon. 
The skating was wonderful, and the dresses gor- 
geous. On this occasion the Prince was only a 
spectator. 

The great St. Lawrence is of course, frozen 
over during the winter ; but the state of the ice is 
totally different to that which we had pictured to 
ourselves. I expected to see a smooth, even sheet 
of ice, spread over the bed of the river, so that 
upon this even surface people could walk and drive 



6o My First Year in Canada. 

ad libitum: but no such thing; the river is covered 
with an irregular mass of snow and ice jammed 
together upon the water, and presenting all kinds 
of shapes. In this state of chaos, it is perfectly 
impassable, until two or three roads are made upon 
it leading to villages on the other side. Along 
these roads there is a considerable traffic, as pro- 
visions, and especially hay, are continually being 
brought in from the country. A few places are 
cleared for skating, but these are very few and but 
little used. The whole appearance resembles an 
irregular glacier more than anything else. 

Before leaving England, I was charged by my 
doctor to ride ; and I was one of the few who 
steadily persevered in this exercise during the 
whole winter. It was a great refreshment to me, 
when wearied with indoor work, to get an hour on 
horseback before luncheon. There were but few 
days when I was prevented by the cold, although 
I confess that I had sometimes a difficulty in 
keeping up a sufficient amount of circulation. For 
this exercise, which contributed not a little to my 
health, I was indebted to a kind officer command- 
ing the Artillery, Colonel G , who pretended 

that I did him much service by keeping his two 
horses in exercise. 

The custom of paying friendly visits on New 
Year's Day has long prevailed among the upper 
classes, both of French and English, in Canada. 



A Whiter in Montreal. 61 

These visits are paid by gentlemen only, the ladies 
remaining at home to receive visitors. An excep- 
tion is kindly made in the case of the Bishop and 
the Clergy, who are allowed to consider themselves 
as the visited on this occasion. We received on 
New Year's Day nearly 300 visits, and among 
them we were honoured by a special visit from 
the Prince. 

It is a genial and time-honoured custom, and 
one that I should be very sorry to see discontinued. 
It draws out much kind feeling; and I have known 
cases where it has been the signal for a reconcilia- 
tion between persons who have been long estranged 
from each other. 

Dinner-parties are frequent in Montreal. There 
is perhaps a little too much expense devoted to 
them ; and this prevents all but the wealthy from 
indulging in such hospitalities. 

I should say that the general cost of living 
here is much the same as in an ordinary English 
town. House-rent is high, and so are all kinds of 
grocery and dress ; whereas meat, poultry, fish, &c. 
are reasonable and excellent. The meat is fairly 
good, but not perhaps first-rate. The beef is some- 
what hard, and the mutton is generally too young, 
being usually little more than grown-up lamb. 
There are no butchers' shops in the streets, but 
every kind of meat is to be had in the public 
markets, which are held daily, and are admirably 



62 My First Year in Canada. 

supplied. It is by no means unusual to see the 
greatest Ladies sallying forth after breakfast to 
make their purchases. Much of the meat is 
killed in December and kept frozen through the 
winter ; but in this state it loses somewhat of its 
freshness and flavour. It is not at all uncommon 
in passing one of the markets, or when driving into 
the country, to see a large hog standing stiff on 
all fours, looking quite alive, but having ceased to 
breathe for many weeks. 

The turkeys and fowls are remarkably cheap 
and abundant ; and the game, which consists of 
partridges, prairie-hens (a kind of grouse), quails, 
snow-birds, &c, are excellent. One often sees a 
string of cock-pheasants hanging up outside a 
grocer's shop, which have been sent over from 
Blenheim or Stowe ; also English hares, of which 
there is only a very debased mongrel kind to be 
met with in this country. 

The Canadians are somewhat demonstrative in 
their sorrows. The funeral cavalcades are of 
enormous dimensions. It is a common thing to 
see a hearse followed by forty or fifty carriages, 
and sometimes by one or two hundred mourners. 
There is a very picturesque and beautiful Protestant 
Cemetery on the north side of the mountain, about 
three miles from the town ; and here most of the 
burials take place. There is however something 
very sad and unsatisfactory about the ceremony, 



A Winter in Montreal. 63 

for, owing to the severe cold, there is usually no 
service in the open air, as in England ; and from 
the impenetrable state of the ground, no interment 
can take place in winter, but the body is consigned 
for a time to a public vault within the enclosure 
of the cemetery. The service therefore is read in 
the church before leaving the town. 

Montreal is decidedly a healthy city during the 
winter, and unhealthy in the summer, especially 
for children. There is no lack of medical advice, 
and that of a high character. As to the legal 
profession, there are almost as many lawyers as 
there are clients ; and yet I am sure that the 
Canadians are not a quarrelsome or combative 
people. 

But I must now be bringing my chapter to a 
close, and the winter too. Suddenly, in the end 
of April, the thermometer mounted up from zero 
to forty degrees. Two or three days of hot 
weather came, and then a soaking rain. The 
sleighs were suddenly put by, and wheels once 
more were the order of the day. The snow and 
ice disappear in wondrously quick time, almost 
before one is able to put by one's furs, and take 
to a more seasonable dress. The transition from 
winter to summer is remarkable : there is scarcely 
any intervening spring. 

On the first of May half the people of Mon- 
treal change their houses. For about three days 



64 My First Year in Canada. 

huge waggons piled up with furniture are to be 
seen in every street, and innumerable auctions take 
place. We, among the rest, moved to a fresh 
house, which we have taken for a year, when we 
hope to get into our new and permanent abode, 
to which I have ventured to give the name of 
' Bishop's Court/ there to remain fixed so long 
as God shall be pleased to keep us here. 



CHAPTER VII. 

A SUMMER IN THE EASTERN TOWNSHIPS. 

MONTREAL, as I have already said, is not desirable 
as a place of residence in the summer ; for, although 
the upper parts of the city are airy and pleasant, it 
is, for some reason which I cannot fathom, certainly 
not healthy, especially for children, during the hot 
weather. I suppose there is something defective 
in the drainage of the town, although I certainly 
should not have come to this conclusion, had it not 
so frequently been pressed upon me. 

After casting about for a place of retreat, we 
fixed upon the little village of Dunham, in the 
Eastern Townships, about fifty miles south of 
Montreal. Most people choose gayer and more 
fashionable quarters, where they may get sea-air ; 
such as Portland, a sea-port in the States, or 
Murray Bay, Riviere du Loup, or Cacouna at the 
entrance of the Gulf below Quebec. Others again 
are content with Lachine, a village near the junction 
of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa, which unite a little 
higher up, and here present a noble expanse of 
water. This is a nice change for those who like 

F 



66 My First Year in Canada. 

boating, and wish to be near Montreal; but the 
place is not otherwise very attractive. 

We decided upon a pretty little new house in 
the peaceful village of Dunham, because we longed 
for perfect quietude after the publicity of a winter 
at Montreal ; also because it lay in the very heart 
of the Diocese, and I was anxious to become better 
acquainted with my clergy and their people. It 
also gave me a favourable opportunity of holding 
several Confirmations, with scarcely the necessity 
of spending a single night from home. 

Here we arrived at the end of June, immedi- 
ately after the Synod and its anxieties were fairly 
over. And never did I seem to breathe more 
freely than when I found myself with my wife, 
child, and servants, established in our village 
home. 

A large tract of country to the south of the St. 
Lawrence goes by the name of the Eastern Town- 
ships. In the reign of George III. the Government 
laid out this part of the country in plots of land, 
each comprising ten or twelve square miles, and 
called a township, having its own separate munici- 
pality. These townships extend from Bedford and 
Stanbridge in the west to some distance beyond 
Richmond in the east, and on the south they touch 
the line or border of the States. The larger por- 
tion of this tract is in the Diocese of Montreal : 
the rest in Quebec. The country has a more 



A Summer in the Eastern Townships. 6j 

riant and flourishing appearance than other parts 
of Lower Canada. It is tolerably cleared, and is 
pretty well cultivated. And if it were not for the 
long and severe winters, I should say it must be 
as fine a spot for farming enterprise as any in the 
world. 

The whole country, from Philipsburg on the 
Missisquoi Bay eastward towards Memphre Magog, 
and from thence to Brome Lake, and across to 
Waterloo, Shefford, Iron Hill, and Sweetsburg, is 
extremely pretty. In many respects it reminded 
us of parts of Switzerland. The mountains are 
low, but beautifully wooded, and of mountain-like 
formation. There is a little lack of water in the 
district, with the exception of two or three beauti- 
ful lakes ; and the wooden buildings certainly can- 
not compare with the picturesque Swiss chalets. The 
country is studded about with innumerable barns 
and outhouses; but they lack the projecting eaves, 
the carved work, and, more than all, the colouring 
of the same class of buildings in Switzerland. Still 
it is a beautiful country, and we were charmed with 
many of our drives. 

My first step was to buy a little horse and 
carriage, as I found it was almost impossible to hire. 
The usual conveyances in these parts are called 
waggons or buggies. They are extremely light, on 
four very slight wheels, and holding two persons. 
The wheels are very high and near together, and 



68 My First Year in Canada. 

the whole carriage weighs less than an English 
pony-carriage. They are neat enough in them- 
selves, but they are usually unwashed, and there- 
fore have a slovenly appearance, and the harness 
is not of the best, nor is there much blacking 
bestowed upon it. Every one has his carriage here, 
as no one walks. If a person comes round with 
wild raspberries, she calls in her buggy ; and as 
for walking a mile, it is a thing unheard of; every 
one drives. 

I was told of a beggar in an adjoining parish, 
who keeps his carriage, and drives from house to 
house collecting alms. So we, like our neighbours, 
fell into the Dunham way, and drove about the 
country, almost forgetting that we had legs to walk 
with. 

It is curious to see the number of carriages that 
are gathered around the churches. Close to every 
Church there is commonly a large half-open shed ; 
and this affords shelter to the waggons in the sum- 
mer, and the sleighs in the winter, the horses 
patiently remaining during service. 

The roads are mostly unstoned, but they are 
fairly good, are most pleasant to drive upon, 
and I am not sure that I would exchange them 
for a hard English flint road. At all events we 
were quite content with them. 

There seemed at first to be one great deficiency 
in our Dunham house. There was no garden 



A Summer in the Eastern Townships. 69 

attached to it, and no vegetables were to be 
bought in the place. But our wants were abun- 
dantly supplied, and at times even superabundantly, 
by the kindness of our neighbours, who sent us 
far more beautiful vegetables of all kinds than we 
could have got at Montreal. Potatoes, cabbages, peas, 
French beans, tomatoes, Indian corn, cauliflowers, 
melons, &c, found their way into our kitchen, 
and were all the sweeter for being free-will gifts. 
One farmer, a stranger, drove over from a village, 
twelve miles off, with a beautiful specimen of his 
garden produce as an offering to the Bishop. The 
Indian corn is eaten in a semi-ripe state as a 
vegetable. There are various ways of serving it ; 
but I think the best, though perhaps not the most 
elegant, is to boil the whole upon the cone. You 
then spread a little butter upon it, and eat it au 
naturel ; and it is really very good. 

Both the wild and cultivated Flowers are in- 
ferior to those in England. The latter grow too 
luxuriantly ; and it is rare to meet with a really 
trim flower-garden. 

There are but few Birds that make their home 
in Canada. Most of those which are to be seen 
in summer are birds of passage. Of these some 
are very pretty, though, as songsters, they are 
inferior to those we have in England. The 
prettiest bird is perhaps the so-called canary. 
In shape it is almost like a sparrow, but it is 



/O My First Year in Canada. 

strikingly handsome — a deep yellow, with very 
defined patches of greenish brown. The colours 
are more decided than' those of the tame canaries 
which are seen in England. One constantly sees 
them in companies of half-a-dozen by the road- 
side ; and they are so tame that one would expect 
them to be content with a prison life ; but this is 
not so, and one rarely sees them in cages. 

The Canadian robin is as unlike our English 
redbreast as possible, It much more resembles 
the thrush. I at first fancied that we had not left 
all our friends the rooks behind us; but, upon 
closer inspection, I found that my black acquaint- 
ances were something between a carrion crow and 
a rook. They have however a very homelike look, 
and a familiar caw, which reminds us of rookeries 
in the dear old land. 

The little humming-bird is rather rare, and 
they are seldom seen but in flower-gardens. They 
are more like butterflies or gadflies than birds, 
both as regards their size and their habits. There 
is, I believe, but one species commonly met with, 
but that is very beautiful. It seems almost 
unaccountable that this very delicate little creature 
should take so long a flight to visit us for merely 
a month or two in the height of the summer. 

There are but few snakes in this country, and 
none, I believe, of venomous character. There 
is a slim kind of squirrel, which is very domestic, 



A Slimmer in the Eastern Townships. 7 1 

and seems to delight in exhibiting its antics in 
public. And there is also a little fellow between 
a squirrel and a rat, called a chipmink, which is 
beautifully mottled. 

The farmers around Dunham are many of 
them substantial men ; their fathers and grand- 
fathers having settled here and purchased land, 
clearing it by degrees. As there is a great 
deficiency of labourers, they are obliged to do 
a great deal themselves ; and certainly many 
of them are singularly active, busy, hard-working 
men. In this immediate neighbourhood a great 
deal of very excellent cheese is made, and every 
person has his staff of cows, varying from twenty 
to fifty. These are milked by the road-side, morning 
and evening ; the milk is deposited in zinc pails, 
and placed on a platform, and a cart comes 
trotting by, picks up the various contributions, 
and carries them to the nearest cheese-factory, 
where each lot is weighed and duly accounted 
for. Some of these factories receive the milk of 
a thousand cows. The cheeses, which usually 
weigh about sixty or seventy pounds, are sent 
either into the States or to England, and better 
I have never tasted. 

Soon after our arrival the hay-making season 
began. This is a stirring time. The grass is 
mostly mown by machinery, and it is often cut, 
made, and carried on the same day ! Indeed, from 



7 2 My First Year in Canada. 

its ripeness, and the dryness of the atmosphere, 
it needs scarcely any making, but is fit to carry 
almost as soon as it is mown down. It is then 
deposited in barns, a stack being a rare sight in 
these parts. 

The corn-harvest follows almost immediately. 
The most productive crop is the Indian corn, which 
this year was very fine, and was a good month 
earlier than usual. A few hop-gardens are to be 
seen here and there; but they are not cultivated 
in the Kentish style. My dear old Pluckley 
Parishioners would cast a very contemptuous eye 
upon them. And yet in spite of weeds and very 
scanty manuring, they produce a fair crop, and 
I have no doubt that, if more expense and labour 
were bestowed upon them, they would grow well, 
and make a profitable return. 

The mode of farming is very different from that 
which I have been used to. Much is done by 
machinery, and little by manual labour. What 
strikes one perhaps most is the speed with which 
both men and horses move here. Instead of 
a huge Kentish plough drawn by four fat horses, 
you see a light instrument with a couple of quick 
ponies, which the driver, with the reins round his 
wrist, steers most dexterously between the roots 
and rocks, with which the fields abound. Then they 
carry their loads in very light waggons, the driver 
perched on the top, and driving with reins at a 



A Summer in the Eastern Townships. 73 

good brisk trot. Thus they whisk up their produce 
and carry it off to the barn, whilst our labourers 
would be crawling about the field, and deliberating 
as to their next step. 

We were much amused one day to watch this 
process, as we were taking a drive along the high 
road. We saw, in an adjoining corn-field, a wag- 
gon pretty well loaded, and coming towards us. 
We discovered the only gap in the fence whereby 
it could properly make its exit, and that rather a 
steep and perilous one. So we stopped to see how 
the waggon would fare. It came up swaying 
terribly from side to side, the driver standing on 
the top with his legs very far apart, not only keep- 
ing his own balance, but poising the whole load by 
the nice adjustment of his own weight. When he 
arrived at the gap he paused, as if to take aim, and 
then, giving a shout of encouragement to his horses, 
he dashed through, and making a sharp turn into 
the road, trotted along to the barn, and deposited 
his oats there in perfect safety. It was a great feat 
of dexterity, and would have astonished not a 
little our English waggoners if they could have 
seen it. 

It strikes me that, considering the great scarcity 
of labour, most of the farmers have too large a 
tract under cultivation. The consequence is that the 
land is insufficiently worked, and not made to yield 
half that it is capable of producing. There is more 



74 My First Year in Canada. 

to be done than the few industrious hands can 
properly accomplish. 

A great number of English emigrants came out 
this summer. But most of them were disposed to 
pass on to Upper Canada, rather than seek their 
fortunes here. There is however a good living to 
be got, and a fair prospect for the future, for a 
settler in the Eastern Townships. What is chiefly 
wanted is willingness to work, and steadiness of 
character. 

Two emigrants were brought specially under 
my notice, who had both come from my neighbour- 
hood in Kent. One was a sturdy, sensible, sober, 
well-educated man, who was fit to be a foreman 
or bailiff on an English farm. He had left his wife 
and children behind, and, poor fellow, he longed 
to send for them, but the means were wanting. 
However he scraped together enough to nearly pay 
their passage. This is the stamp of man that is 
wanted ; and if he perseveres, and is content to 
work as a farm-labourer for a few years, he will 
soon be likely to save enough to buy a little land, 
and thrive in this country. 

The other was the son of a clergyman in an 
adjoining parish to Pluckley. His father could not 
afford to start him witlj any capital ; but he desired 
to emigrate ; and being young and strong he deter- 
mined to try his fortune in Canada. So he took 
his passage for Liverpool as a common emigrant. 



A Sammer in the Eastern Townships. 75 

The day after his arrival in Montreal, we met him 
in the street on his way to our house. He was 
looking pretty well, but he had suffered not a little 
from his voyage. He had roughed it, he said, 
before ; but never had he passed through such an 
ordeal as his emigrant's passage. He was one of 
four hundred, who were closely packed in one of 
the regular Line Packets. He had paid the regu- 
lation price, six pounds, and was treated after the 
regulation fashion. 

After being a few days with us, he regained his 
spirits, and cast about for employment. He soon 
engaged himself to a wealthy farmer, and there he 
set to with all his heart, turning his hand to any- 
thing required of him, and there he remained till 
after the following harvest. Had he been enabled 
to remain in the country, I doubt not he would 
have succeeded ; but a death in his family, I grieve 
to say, called him home. 

There are numbers of schools in and around 
Dunham ; about one, I believe, to every square 
mile. Indeed, there is no lack of schools in 
Canada generally. Many of these however are 
very small, and the instruction is defective. 
There is a peculiarly desolate and unpicturesque 
appearance about them ; and certainly, if the 
charms of education are represented by the build- 
ings, there is little to attract. There is also this 
great and radical fault — the education is secular 



j6 My First Year in Canada. 

and religionless ; and consequently that which 
ought to be a blessing to this infant country, will, 
I fear, prove to be its curse. Private efforts should 
be made to remedy this evil. A few good church 
schools, where religion is the recognised basis, and 
a Christian tone cultivated, would be an inestimable 
boon to Canada. 

In the first part of our stay, I was chiefly 
engaged with my Confirmations, which I held in 
most of the parishes of the Deanery. The number 
of candidates generally averaged about fifteen. 
They were always well conducted, and generally 
seemed to be impressed with the solemnity of the 
rite. It gave me an opportunity of gathering the 
parishioners together, and holding services which 
the people generally seemed to appreciate, as 
well as those more immediately concerned ; and 
for these services, I have reason to feel thankful. 
It is not unusual in a Canadian confirmation to 
have a large proportion of adults, and even persons 
of advanced age, among the candidates. I have 
confirmed an old man of ninety, and several above 
seventy. Many of these had remained long unbap- 
tized, and have only recently been received into 
the Church. 

During the latter part of my stay in the Town- 
ships, I had hoped to be free from work. But this 
I could not quite manage, as little calls for labour 
were for ever presenting themselves. A Church 



A Summer in the Eastern Townships. yj 

had to be opened here, and a special Confirmation 
to be held there. But still I had a good deal of 
quiet time to myself, which I greatly enjoyed. 
And as for ever being quite at liberty, I suppose a 
Bishop can never expect that ; for whether in or out 
of his Diocese, there are always letters to be written, 
and matters to be settled, requiring anxious and 
painful thought. This however is necessarily a 
characteristic of my work ; but I willingly accept 
it, and am very thankful that my labours are often 
greatly lightened by the thoughtful consideration ot 
those over whom I am placed. 



78 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CLOSE OF THE SUMMER. 

I FELT a little sad when our short summer drew 
to a close We were led to think that the heat 
would be intolerable, but we have found it other- 
wise. The temperature may be higher, but the 
heat is less oppressive, than during many a hot 
season which I remember in Kent. 

We had our little gaieties at Dunham — our 
drives, our calls, our sewing-society meetings, and 
our tea-parties. These latter are usually the meal of 
hospitality. Guests arrive about six, and the little 
parlour is well filled. Then, presently, the folding- 
doors are thrown open, and a well-spread table 
presents itself. There is no stint of provisions. 
There are plates of bread cut in the thinnest slices, 
cakes of various shapes, and of invariable goodness, 
and a profusion of jam, which is served to each 
person in a pretty little glass saucer ; besides this, 
there is plenty of good butter, and sometimes 
cheese. Certainly, there is no fear of one's going 
home hungry, or of not meeting with a warm 
reception. The tea which is most used is from 



Close of the Summer. 87 

Japan ; it has very much the flavour of our green 
tea, which is considered so unwholesome in Eng- 
land. This however seems to be perfectly inno- 
cuous, and to my palate it is very agreeable. One 
of the clergy told me that a servant of his, observ- 
ing that her master preferred black tea and her 
mistress green, whispered to him confidentially 
one morning, that she had put some green tea at 
the bottom of the teapot, and a spoonful or two of 
black at the top ; and that if he would pour his out 
first, he would get all the black, not calculating 
that the process of admixture would take place, 
and render her care for her master's interests some- 
what futile. 

After tea there is a little friendly talk, and 
then the pleasant evening generally closes as it 
ought, with a chapter of the Bible and Prayer. 
Such at least was usually the case at Dunham, 
when I have been present. 

One of our few great excursions was up the 
Pinnacle, a little strikingly shaped conical moun- 
tain, about seven miles from Dunham, closely 
wooded almost to the summit, with a bare rocky 
peak. It was seen from all parts, and appeared 
to be constantly saying to us, ' Come up, and see 
what I have to show you/ And as we heard that 
the ascent was quite worth the pains, we determined 
that it should tempt us no longer. 

So we started one afternoon, and drove to the 



So My First Year in Canada. 

foot of the mountain ; and our clergyman, Mr. 

G , and his wife, accompanied us. Having had 

some experience on the Swiss mountains, though in 
a very small way, I of course thought and spoke 
somewhat contemptuously of such a trifling walk 
as this ; but it proved to be a harder afternoon's 
work than I had bargained for. 

Arrived at the base, we tied up our horses at a 
farm ; but hearing that the ascent was a case of 
impossibility for the ladies, we posted them on a 
pleasant woodland slope, from whence they could 
see us on reaching the top, and having obtained 
some directions from the farmers, we plunged 
boldly into the bush. Certainly there was a blind 
path, but we were constantly losing it on account 
of the number of huge trees, which had been toppled 
over by a severe hurricane in the previous week. 
However, by mounting continually upwards, we at 
length saw the wished-for rock, which we imme- 
diately recognised as the goal towards which we 
were pressing. 

We were quite repaid for our walk, and a 
sharp one it certainly was ; and though the atmo- 
sphere was hazy, we still had a good near view, and 
imagined what was beyond. 

And now for our descent, which we pictured 
to ourselves as a mere bagatelle, and easily to be 
accomplished. Well, we began at a merry pace, 
but soon lost our bearing. I thought we were 



Close of the Summer. 8 1 

pointing too much to the left ; my companion was 
sure that we were going right. Both proved to 
be wrong, and I the more so of the two. For 
when, after a while, we saw daylight again, and 
emerged from the bush, we found ourselves a good 
three miles north of the spot from which we had 
ascended ! Hot and tired as we were, we had to 
press on to reach our party, who, we .knew, must 
be beginning to feel alarmed, as the shadows of 
evening were gathering around us. And truly 
they were a little alarmed. Finding that we did 
not arrive, they had gone to the farm ; and there 
the good, kind people fully entered into their 
anxiety, although they assured them that we had 
only shared the fate of most travellers, and missed 
our way, and would soon turn up. One of 
them however most kindly volunteered to sally 
forth with his horn in search of us ; and two 
labouring men said that they would also be on 
the look-out. But presently our welcome arrival 
set all right ; and going into the farm-house, we 
rested ourselves for half-an-hour, revelled in some 
new milk, and started home by moonlight. 

But our troubles were not over. Mr. and Mrs. 

G led the way in their buggy, and we followed 

in ours. Our little mare was unusually fresh and 
impatient, and the harness was evidently not right. 
I got out and adjusted it ; but she did not seem 
very placid even then. And presently, when going 

G 



82 My First Year in Canada. 

down a steep hill, with a ditch on either side, she 
fairly jibbed, at one moment refusing to move, and 
the next darting forward as if she was shot out of a 
gun, so that I could scarcely hold her. At length, 
when half way down the hill, she peremptorily re- 
fused to go on, and finally backed us into the ditch, 
locking the fore-wheels across the road. At this 
critical moment to jump out was our best chance ; 
and this we did safely with the reins in hand. And 
then, with the assistance of our kind and active 

friend, Mr. G , who had come back in search of 

us, we coaxed our steed on, and eventually restored 
her to a better temper. 

We did not reach home till ten o'clock ; and 
there we found our servants gathered on the 
gallery, having become a little anxious as to what 
had happened to us. This then was one of our 
Dunham gaieties, an excursion which I should 
much like to repeat under other circumstances. 
And this too was one of the many instances in 
which God has watched over us, and kept us from 
harm. 

The weather was delightful during our three 
months' stay at Dunham. The summer was more 
than ordinarily hot ; but we were never really op- 
pressed by the heat. Certainly, a healthier resi- 
dence we could not have found. 

For about a week the atmosphere was more or 
less charged with smoke, owing to the burnings in 



Close of the Sitmmer. 83 

the woods. These fires are sometimes most dis- 
astrous. They were unusually so this summer, 
in consequence of the excessive dryness of the 
ground. I was told that on one occasion, during 
a hurricane, the fire travelled over thirty miles 
of country within an hour — such was the fearful 
rapidity of its giant strides. Cases occurred too of 
parents pouring water over their children, in the 
hope of sheltering them from the burning heat, 
until at length they were forced to yield them up 
to the devouring element. 

In the neighbourhood of Ottawa, houses, barns, 
and even villages, were destroyed by the flames. 
In one of these villages I was to have held a Con- 
firmation, but I was unable to do so, as the people 
were obliged to watch their homesteads for days 
and nights together, and much property around 
them had been utterly destroyed. 

The commander of the Fire Brigade writes 
thus : — 

' I encountered sights that for misery and desolation ex- 
ceeded all I had ever previously experienced. Towards 
Bell's Corner, for miles, not a habitation was to be found. 
At one place I observed a man sitting on a charred pine- 
log, with flannel shirt, and no hat or covering for his head : 
his story was short ; " A few hours ago," he said, pointing 
to the smouldering embers, "there stood three barns, two 
of them filled with grain ; there stood the cow-shed, and 
there the stables ; now you can see the carcases of eight 
cows, forty sheep, and nine hogs." Then, turning round, 



84 My First Year in Canada. 

and pointing across the road, he said, " There stood our 
home, now all is gone, the fruits of thirty years' hard 
labour. In yonder swamp are my wife and bairns, with no 
more clothes than now cover myself; but, thank God, our 
lives are all spared, and within this breast is left a good 
Scottish heart, so I know we shall not want." J 

These fires generally originate from the in- 
cautious burning of logs and boughs, which have 
been heaped together in some spot that has been 
recently cleared, the wood not being worth remov- 
ing. A breeze perhaps springs up, and the adjoin- 
ing trees catch fire, and then it is often impossible 
to arrest the flames. 

Sometimes too, where the soil is peaty, it gets 
into the ground, and remains there smouldering for 
weeks beneath the surface. A gentleman told me 
of a fire in his father's land, which broke out in 
June. It remained in the ground during the 
following winter, burning beneath the snow, and 
burst out again in the spring ! It is indeed a 
great mercy to have been spared witnessing such 
scenes. 

One of my last drives was to Mansonville, 
which is one of our Missions, at the southern ex- 
tremity of the Eastern Townships, and within a 
few miles of Lake Memphremagog. My wife and 
I started on Saturday morning in our waggon, and 
went over the hills to Abercorn, where I consecrated 
a Burial-ground, dined with some members of the 



Close of the Summer. 85 

Church Mr. and Mrs. N ; and then on through 

a most lovely and romantic country to Glen 
Sutton. Here a little congregation was assembled 
for service in a schoolroom — a most primitive Ser- 
vice, and I preached to them on ' God is love.' We 
then proceeded to Mansonville, calling on our way 
on a nice old lady of eighty-four, who ' would very 
much like to see the Bishop/ 

Next morning, Sunday, Mr. B- and I 

went to South Bolton, which belongs to another 
Mission, and is now without a pastor. Here we 
had service at eleven, and returned through a 
beautiful country to Mansonville for an Evening 
Service, when the church was crammed. This is 
about the most Swiss-like portion of the country 
that we have passed through. 

Our last pleasure excursion was to Eccles Hill, 
the scene of the recent conflict with the Fenians. 
We went a party of ten, and had a capital inspec- 
tion of the battle-field. Dr. G and two Mr. 

B s, who were in the engagement, were with 

us, and acted as excellent cicerones, pointing out 
to us all the interesting particulars. 

It seems that, on the night before the skirmish, 
a party of the Home Guard (a small, but sturdy, 
band of Irregulars, composed of farmers in the 
neighbourhood of Dunham) occupied a little emin- 
ence close to the village of Eccles Hill. This 
ground is studded with rocks, which form a natural 



86 My First Year in Canada. 

fortification. It is backed by a thick toll of trees, 
and commands the village and road, through which 
the Fenians were expected to pass. 

The Home Guard was joined in the morning 
by about 200 Regular Volunteers. They all 
posted themselves in this strong and advantageous 
position ; and presently the dreaded Fenians began 
to show themselves. A few advanced beyond the 
Border line, and were instantly fired upon by our 
men. Two or three fell, one in the road, 
about 300 yards off, and another as he was run- 
ning across a field at about twice the distance. 
Several more were wounded, but escaped to a 
neighbouring wood, dying on the American side 
of the Border. In less than a quarter of an hour 
the work was done ; and the Fenians, who did 
not expect so warm a reception, were glad 
enough to retire, never, I hope, to make another 
attempt to trouble us with their presence. Some 
of the regular troops, with Prince Arthur among 
them, were posted in the town of St. John's, 
ready to come to the rescue, had their aid been 
needed. 

We saw the spot where one of the Fenians 
found a temporary grave ; and we went into a 
house in the village, which had suffered a little 
from our rifle-balls. One of these had made a 
clean cut through a pane of glass, then through 
the opposite door, and lodging in the wall beyond. 



Close of the Summer. 87 

We were very glad to have made this expedition 
before leaving the neighbourhood. 

And now I must close my chapter, and the 
account of our pleasant stay in these country 
parts. Truly I may say of our good friends at 
Dunham, and indeed of the people of Canada 
generally, that their hospitality and kindness 
know no bounds. If a horse or a carriage is 
needed, you have but to name your want, and 
one is so cheerfully and willingly offered that 
you cannot refuse it; and as for food and lodg- 
ing, they are at the service of every one, whether 
friend or stranger. During my year in Canada, 
in all my Visitation tours, which have been pretty 
numerous, I have never once had occasion to pay 
for a single article of food, or to provide for a con- 
veyance. The clergy and laity seem to vie with 
each other in their kind and generous anxiety to 
serve their Bishop. 

We closed most reluctantly our summer in the 
Eastern Townships, and I exchanged it for three 
weeks in the rougher parts of my Diocese. This 
however will not come into ' my First Year in 
Canada.' 



88 



CHAPTER IX. 

STATUS AND PROSPECTS OF THE CHURCH. 

I FOUND the Church, on my arrival, pretty well 
organised, with its Dean and Canons of the 
Cathedral, an Archdeacon, and four Rural Deans, 
besides some six or eight Honorary Canons. The 
staff of clergy amounted to about seventy. It 
had also its Synod for some years past, although 
its affairs were principally managed by a " Church 
Society." This society was however merged in the 
Synod shortly before my arrival. Thus I found 
the Church with its admirable and solid frame- 
work fully elaborated; and for this I am mainly 
indebted to the zeal, energy, and practical wisdom 
of my valued predecessor, Bishop Fulford. I 
have since added another Archdeacon to our 
staff. 

The old Church Society seems to have done 
its work well for the time being. Still how- 
ever it was but an imperfect organisation, and 
gave place to the Synod, which is the legitimate 
ruling power in the Church. The Church Society 
was suited to the days of the Church's pupilage ; 



Status and Prospects of the Church. 89 

but the Synod belongs to a riper and more 
perfect system. The one was but a voluntary 
association within the Church ; whereas the other 
is the true representative Body of the Church 
itself. 

The Diocesan Synod meets annually, and its 
sittings are generally extended over three or four 
days. The Bishop presides, and the members con- 
sist of all the licensed clergy, and lay delegates 
from the various parishes or missions, the whole 
number being upwards of two hundred. 

The Provincial Synod, including representa- 
tives from the clergy and laity of the several dio- 
ceses, meets once in every three years, at Montreal. 
It consists of an Upper House of Bishops under 
the presidency of the Metropolitan, and a Lower 
House presided over by an elected Prolocutor 
The acts of this Synod rule the whole church of 
the Province. 

The first Bishop of Canada, Dr. Mountain, was 
consecrated in 1793. Montreal was formed into a 
diocese, and Francis Fulford was consecrated its 
first Bishop, in 1856. The See is made over to 
the Bishop by Royal Patent, and he is regarded 
for all legal purposes as 'a corporation sole,' in 
whom is vested most of the Church property of 
the Diocese. 

Each of the other Canadian Bishops is elected 
by the clergy and laity assembled in Synod. But 



go My First Year in Canada. 

the Bishop of Montreal, being also Metropolitan of 
the whole Province, is elected by a somewhat dif- 
ferent process. The Synod of Montreal meets, 
and with it the House of Bishops ; and no election 
can be made by the Synod, unless the name is first 
sent down to them by the assembled Bishops. 

The last election was nearly leading to a cata- 
strophe. The Bishops named several for the office ; 
but one after another was rejected, either by the 
clergy or by the laity, whereas it was required 
that both should be consentients. A party in the 
Synod was anxious that some clergyman of the 
Diocese should be exalted to the Episcopate, and 
another party was equally determined that the 
office should be filled by a stranger. At one time, 
it seemed as if any solution whatever of the ques- 
tion was hopeless, until at length a compromise 
took place, and a reconciliation between the con- 
tending parties was happily effected. 

The meeting of the Synod this year took place 
on Tuesday, June 2ist, and we continued in 
session three days. It began as usual with a 
solemn service in the Cathedral, and a celebration 
of the Holy Communion. In the afternoon we met 
in the Synod room, where the names having been 
called over, and the officers appointed, I delivered 
an opening address,* and the Synod was fairly 
launched. Knowing the difficulties which had pre- 

* See Appendix. 



Status and Prospects of the Church. 91 

viously existed, I looked forward to its meeting 
with some degree of apprehension ; but all went off 
far better than I anticipated. The speaking was 
short and to the point ; and although a little 
party spirit every now and then showed itself, it 
readily gave place to what was for the common 
good. 

On one or two occasions the gauntlet of discord 
was thrown down ; but after a few explosive words 
things went on calmly again. For example, the 
introduction of the epithet Protestant, in framing 
an address to the Irish Church, was the signal for 
the discharge of a little oratorical artillery. A few 
pungent words were uttered, and then all rallied 
round the standard of peace. One speaker gloried 
in the term Protestant ; another had rather have 
his third finger amputated than that the word 
should be expunged; whilst a third contended, 
that the Irish Church was not Protestant, but 
Catholic. In our difficulty, when it seemed as 
if some trouble must ensue, one of our moderate 
and wise laymen, who has more than once before 
come to the rescue on such occasions, and will, 
I trust, do so yet again, stood up, and by a short, 
but well-timed amendment succeeded in satisfying 
the combatants on either side, and made each feel 
that his own idiosyncrasy was truly represented. 
It was indeed pleasant to see how a little brotherly 
and Christian concession commended itself to all. 



92 My First Year in Canada. 

The most important measures were the adoption 
of a Report on the future management of our 
missions; also the selection of a certain number 
of clerical, and an equal number of lay, delegates, 
to represent our diocese at the next Provincial 
Synod; and the appointment of thirty members 
for the Executive Committee, in whom is vested 
the management of all the fiscal affairs of the 
diocese. These elections were made by ballot ; 
and the latter by the separate votes of clergy 
and laity. 

This arrangement of 'voting by orders is necessary 
in this case, and is also resorted to on other special 
occasions, on the application of any three members 
of the House. This is an important safeguard 
in cases where the peculiar interest of either order 
is at stake; but, as it has a tendency to array 
one body against the other, it is a privilege 
which should be used very sparingly, and certainly 
not for party purposes. There exists at present 
a good feeling between the clerical and lay 
members of our communion ; and it is my earnest 
and heartfelt wish that this feeling may be 
strengthened ; for without it the Church cannot 
really prosper. 

The annual meeting of the Synod is important, 
as affording an opportunity for ventilating questions, 
and for the expression of opinions, affecting the 
welfare of the Diocese, and also for the framing of 



Statics and Prospects of the Church. 93 

canons for the due regulation of its Church work. 
And this is done in a manner so consistent with 
Church order that there is no room for discontent. 

Besides the Synod meeting, we had in the 
course of the winter another of scarcely less im- 
portance. It was the Annual Missionary Meeting 
— not Missionary according to the English mean- 
ing of the word — but in a Canadian sense, as it was 
for the furtherance of general Church objects in the 
various missions of the Diocese, and to give inform- 
ation as to the progress of the work. The meeting 
was a very successful one ; the room was crowded ; 
and the speaking was unusually interesting and 
effective. Some of our leading laymen took part 
in it ; and we had upon the platform Bishop Stevens, 
of Philadelphia, an able and eloquent representative 
of our Sister Church in the United States. The 
collection was larger and the numbers greater than 
on former occasions ; and it gave, I trust, a little 
spur to Church energy for the year. 

And now what shall I say as to the prospects 
of our beloved Church ? When I consider what 
the Canadian Church was but a few years ago, and 
what it is now, I do indeed rejoice and feel thank- 
ful. The present Dean of Montreal recollects the 
first Anglican Bishop, and was himself ordained by 
him. He began his Episcopate with only five 



94 My First Year in Canada. 

clergymen in the whole province : now we have 
about four hundred and fifty in the Province, and 
upwards of seventy in this Diocese. But we want 
more ; for there are fields here ripe for the harvest, 
if we had but labourers to occupy them. There 
are at this moment new Missions which ought to 
be opened, and which others will snatch from us if 
we do not seize our opportunity ; and there are 
clergymen working hard who are sadly overtaxed, 
and need help. I also long to employ one or two 
Travelling Missionaries, regularly to visit the 
Lumber Districts during the winter ; but we lack 
both men and funds. May some reader of these 
pages be stirred up either to offer himself for the 
work, or to give me the means of sending others ! 
Souls may thus be won, and members may be 
gathered into the Church. 

Our Church system is fairly launched in its 
integrity. We have an able and devoted body of 
clergy, and a laity who feel a real interest in its 
welfare and prosperity. May God be with us, pour- 
ing out His Spirit upon each Mission, each minister, 
each member of the Church, and we shall then be 
blest, and be made a blessing to this land ! 

The Ecclesiastical Province, over which the 
Bishop of Montreal presides as Metropolitan, con- 
sists of the Dioceses of Huron, Toronto, Ontario, 
Montreal, and Quebec. But it is likely that the 
following will ere long be added ; Frederickton, 



Status and Prospects of the Church. 95 

Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Rupertsland, and 
Columbia. 

The Church in the Diocese of Montreal derives 
no special advantages from the State, beyond the 
miserable pittance of 3500 dollars per annum, 
recovered with some difficulty from the Clergy Re- 
serves, when they were secularized in 1855. She 
also retains six or seven Rectories, made over by 
Royal Patent. These however, as has been already 
shown, have scarcely any advantages over ordinary 
missions, and have no special salaries attached to 
them. The Rectory of Montreal is an exception, 
having the sum of three hundred pounds paid 
annually by the Government ; but this will be for- 
feited at the death of the present Rector. 

The income of the Church is derived from the 
following sources : — 

1. From the small sum saved from the wreck of 
the Clergy Reserves ; 

2. From certain local Endowments ; 

3. From an annual Grant from the Society for 
the Propagation of the Gospel, which is gradually 
decreasing, and will eventually be withdrawn ; 

4. From the Voluntary Contributions of Church 
members. 

From these sources, the wants of the Church are 
with difficulty supplied. When a mission is formed, 
the pecuniary capacity of the congregation is ascer- 
tained, and they pledge themselves to make up a 



g6 My First Year in Canada. 

certain sum, the remainder being supplemented by 
the General Church fund. 

When a locality contributes but a third of the 
sum needed, the post is called a Mission; when 
one-half, it is a Parish; and when it becomes self- 
supporting, it is then considered as a Rectory. In 
the two first cases the Bishop appoints the clergy- 
man, whilst in the last the Congregation nominate 
him, and it rests with the Bishop to confirm the 
nomination if he approves. 

The clergy are at present very inadequately 
paid, their incomes rarely exceeding 600 dollars, or 
a hundred and twenty pounds sterling. It would 
be greatly to the advantage of the Diocese, and to 
the credit of the Church, if a worthier stipend were 
accorded to those who 'labour in the word and 
doctrine.' If the clergy were thus relieved from 
the distracting cares of a straitened income, they 
would labour not only with more comfort, but with 
more power. 

I have held three Ordinations during the past 
year, and have ordained seven clergymen. My 
first ordination was held in the Cathedral ; my 
second at Hemmingford ; and the third at Trinity 
Church, Montreal. 



97 



APPENDIX I. 



FIRST SERMON IN THE CATHEDRAL, 
MONTREAL. 



THE LORD'S CALL, AND MAN'S REPLY.— Isa. iv. 8. 



• I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I 
send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, 
send me.' 

THERE are times when the Lord calls upon His ser- 
vants to enter upon some special work which He has 
marked out for them. He called upon Noah to 
prepare an ark for safety during the coming deluge. 
He called Abraham to quit his native country, and 
to shine like a beacon light in a distant land. He 
called Moses to give up a life of ease in the court 
of Pharaoh, and to undertake the leadership of His 
people Israel. He called Daniel to make a bold 
confession before the scoffers of Babylon. He 
called the sons of Zebedee to turn away from their 
seafaring life, and henceforward to become ' fishers 
of men/ 

II 



98 Appendix L 

The case brought immediately before us in the 
text is perhaps still more special. We find the 
Lord condescending to invite His servants to 
volunteer, as it were, for a certain work on which 
His mind was bent. Like some great General, who 
sees that a fort is to be attacked, or a city wall 
to be scaled; so the Lord asks who of His soldiers 
will offer themselves for the enterprise He has in 
hand, and cries aloud, ' Whom shall I send, and 
who will go for us ?' Upon which the prophet 
Isaiah steps forward with a willing heart ; and with- 
out a moment's hesitation gives himself for the 
work ; e Here am I : send me.' 

And yet, it may be, his heart was not altogether 
free from misgiving — not as to his duly, but as to 
his fitness. For do we not find him a moment 
before, when brought into the near presence of a holy 
God, shrinking back at the thought of his own 
shortcomings, and exclaiming, 'Woe is me, for I 
am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips ; 
for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of 
hosts?' Yes, he was awed, not so much by the 
difficulty of the work to which the Lord might be 
pleased to call him, but from the persuasion of his 
own inability to discharge it — not that he felt 
unwilling, but unworthy to be employed for such a 
Master. 'Then (we are told) flew one of the Sera- 
phims unto him, having a live coal from off the 
altar, and laid it upon his mouth, and said, Lo, 



The Lord's Call and Maris Reply. 99 

this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is 
taken away, and thy sin purged,' 

And now, in a humbled and chastened spirit, 
but with a full assurance of God's pardoning 
mercy, and of his own acceptance, he stands boldly 
forward, ready for any errand to which he may be 
called. 

Here, then, is a noble pattern for us to imitate. 
In the great machinery of God's world we have all 
of us a post to fill. God calls us to work for Him. 
It is true He does not require our aid ; He can act 
wholly without us ; but yet He graciously invites 
us to be workers together with Him. To each one 
He says, ' I have a work for you to do — a special 
work for which you are fitted — a work in which you 
may glorify me — a happy work in which it is your 
privilege to engage.' This work, whatever it be, 
may be small and insignificant in the eyes of men, 
or it may be great ; it may be a work which needs 
self-denial; it may be a work unsought for, un- 
looked for. Still, if He summons you, and calls 
you to it, it is your duty and your happiness to 
enter upon it. 

Some persons are always looking out for work, 
but never finding it. And yet perhaps their real 
work, that which God would have them engage in, 
lies all the while very plainly before them, but they 
see it not. 



100 Appendix I. 

Some again are always intending, always wish- 
ing to do something for God ; and there it ends. 
Many things are thought of and talked about, but 
nothing is accomplished. Brethren, we must be 
working, and not mere wishing Christians; doers, 
and not mere dreamers. 

He says to us, ' Son, daughter, work to-day in 
My vineyard.' And woe unto us if we shrink from 
it ! Woe unto us, if we are slack and dilatory in 
obeying Him, if we put off till to-morrow what He 
bids us do to-day ! 

Then too some are ready to plead a backward- 
ness arising from humility. ' What can / do in my 
humble position, situated as I am, with so few ad- 
vantages, and so little influence ?' But surely we 
can all do something for our Lord. Does not our 
Master say, ' To every man his work ?' Whatever 
be your position, something is within your reach. 
Every one has an influence for good or evil which 
he may exert. Every one has a hand to lift, a foot 
to move, a heart to feel, a voice to raise. Every 
one may employ himself for the good of others and 
for God's glory. If through the mercy of God you 
have received light from above, you can let your 
light shine. You need not force it upon any one, 
but simply let it shine. Yes, and in God's sight 
your little speck of light may perhaps be as bright 
as the flaming torch of some great one. The 
smallest twinkling star above us is as precious to 



The Lord's Call and Mans Reply. 101 

Him, and in its measure serves His gracious pur- 
pose, as much as the brilliant mid-day sun. 

Oh, that God would give us willing hearts ! 
Oh, that we were more eager to labour for Him ! 
Oh, that, when He says, ( Whom shall I send, and 
who will go for us ?' we were ready to exclaim 
with all humility, but with a holy promptitude, 
1 Here am I : send me/ ' Lord, what wilt Thou have 
me to do ?' 

It is a great mercy, Brethren, when God shows 
us clearly where our work lies, when He points the 
way so plainly and unmistakably that we can but 
follow. Thank God this seemed to be the case 
with myself, when suddenly and unexpectedly a. 
call came to me from this Church in Canada to 
leave the quiet and humble post that I was filling,, 
and to occupy the exalted position which is now 
assigned to me. A call so distinct from the Church 
of Christ, gathered in solemn Synod, seemed also 
to be a clear call from God ; and I could not — 
dared not — hesitate. It whispered, as it were, in 
accents too clear to be mistaken, ' Son, go work 
to-day in another portion of My vineyard. The 
time is short. Life's little hour will soon be gone.. 
The sun has passed its meridian ; ere it sets, go 
forth and work awhile in a new field of labour.. 
My finger points the way. My everlasting arm 
supports thee. My presence shall go with thee/ 

Could I then hold back ? Could I hesitate to 



102 Appendix I. 

accept a call so lovingly made ? Instead of taking 
credit for any willingness to obey, I should have 
been simply faithless had I doubted. 

And now I proceed upon my errand, conscious 
of the important task which I have undertaken, but 
assured that He who has called me to it can also fit 
me for it. Feeling that the discharge of a humbler 
office in the Church would perhaps have been 
better suited to my powers, but knowing that He 
can give me grace and strength even for the 
highest. 

And now, dear Brethren, I want your Sympathy, 
your Help, your Prayers. 

I want your Sympathy ; and I feel that I shall 
have it. Are we not ' One body in Christ, and 
everyone members one of another ? ' Are we not 
children of a common Father, and servants of the 
same loving Saviour ? Are not the interests of one 
the interests of us all ? Are we not as sheaves bound 
up in the same bundle of life, placed one here and 
another there in the wide harvest field, but to be 
gathered one day into the same heavenly garner ? 
One of the gospel's golden rules is that we should 
' bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law 
of Christ/ And truly this rule has been abundantly 
observed towards me. I may say that there are 
few things that have tended more to sweeten the 
bitterness of parting with those most dear to us in 



The Lord's Call and Man's Reply. 103 

our own beloved land, than the marvellous sym- 
pathy which has been so abundantly shown us 
both by friends and strangers. 

Never, I think, has anyone been blest with so 
many kind and affectionate wishes as I have ex- 
perienced in the last few weeks — the hearty expres- 
sion of good will from both rich and poor, who 
have desired to speed us on our way. These 
have been like sweet breezes which have wafted 
me and mine to the shores of our adopted country. 
These have comforted us in our moments of trial ; 
and the grateful remembrance of these will comfort 
us in days to come. 

And, thanks be to God, we find that self-same 
spirit of affection awaiting us here — throwing open, 
as it were, its arms to receive us. Though we have 
exchanged a long-cherished home, and still dearer 
ties, for those which are altogether new, we rejoice 
to find that the strong but invisible thread of 
sympathy is in no way severed ; but we still feel 
its sustaining power ; it still draws us out of our- 
selves, and binds us on to those whose faces are 
strange to us, but whose hearts are one with us. 

But, further, I want your Help. And I am 
asking you for what you all may give me. In a 
family the humblest servant or the youngest child 
may be very helpful to his Master or his Parent. 
In a parish each individual member of the flock 



104 Appendix I. 

may give a helping hand to his Minister. He may 
help him by his influence ; for who is there that 
has not, as I said just now, some influence ? Who 
is there that may not say something, or do some- 
thing, to forward the great work in which his 
pastor is engaged ? He may help him by follow- 
ing his directions and carrying out his plans. He 
may help him yet more by the daily preaching of 
a holy and consistent life. And, Brethren, as your 
Bishop, I also shall look to you for help. The 
work I have undertaken is a very arduous one ; but 
you, each one of you, may do something to lighten 
it. I cannot tell you how much it will tend to 
diminish my burden, if I can have the happy feel- 
ing that you are doing your best — it may be but 
little, but still your best — to strengthen my hands 
and cheer my heart. I shall doubtless have my 
trials and my difficulties. Some will blame me for 
being too severe ; others for being too remiss. 
There are those whose quick eye will be ready to 
mark each little error in judgment, each incon- 
sistency in conduct ; for who among us can always 
stand upright ; who is there that has not need to 
pray, ' Cleanse thou me from secret faults ? ' But 
at such times of trial and difficulty, when my heart 
will perhaps ache within me, and my path for a 
moment will be full of perplexity, and the feeling 
that I have done my very best will not be enough 
to reassure me, if I can fall back upon the kind 



The Lord's Call and Man's Reply. 105 

forbearance of my brethren, the charity that 
thinketh no evil, the love that is ever ready to 
start up in support of God's servants, then I shall 
indeed feel that I have a tower of strength, on 
which I can confidently rely. 

And yet, after all, whether in the case of a 
parent, or of a minister, or of one filling a still 
higher post, in every time of anxiety our truest 
refuge is in God, our real repose is in the bosom of 
our Lord. Happy indeed is he who can look up 
and say, 'Thou art my hiding-place;' 'Thou wilt 
keep him. in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on 
Thee.' 

I ask then for your Help ; and I have shown 
you that you can give it. I shall greatly need it 
in carrying out my plans for the good of the 
Diocese. I shall need it, if I am to accomplish 
anything here for God. I shall need it, for my 
own comfort and encouragement. Alone, I shall 
be weak and powerless ; but,, backed and supported 
by you, I shall feel a strength which will sustain 
me. 

But I have another request to make, a yet 
harder request to grant, a boon even more difficult 
to bestow. I want your Prayers — not a momentary 
lifting up of your hearts for me, but a continued 
pleading in my behalf before God, who can make 
me all that He would have me to be. Pray, Brethren, 



106 Appendix L 

that I may have come to you in the fulness of the 
blessing of the Gospel of Peace. Pray that He 
who has summoned me to my exalted post may 
strengthen me and guide me in the discharge of it. 
Plead for one who greatly needs help from above — 
grace in his own soul — and vigour to nerve him 
for his work. Pray that a living fire may touch 
my lips, and that the Holy Spirit of God may 
sanctify my heart. The prayers of Abraham would 
have saved the guilty cities, steeped as they were 
in iniquity, had there been but ten righteous men 
in them. Elijah's prayer called down refreshing 
showers on the parched plains of Israel. Prayer 
helped St. Paul in his abundant labours. And, 
Brethren, if you wish to help me, pray for me, that 
my labour may not be in vain in the Lord. In 
answer to your prayers, souls may be saved, and 
gifts may descend, like the former and latter rain, 
upon the thirsty ground. ' Prove me now herewith, 
saith the Lord, if I will not open the windows of 
heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there 
shall not be room enough to receive it.' 

Be assured, God has great things to give, and 
He loves to give them in answer to our entreaties. 
He will be inquired of for this to do it for us. 
' The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man ' — 
of even the humblest servant of God — 'availeth 
much.' 



The Lord's Call and Man's Reply. 107 

And now, before I close my sermon — my first 
sermon preached in this my Diocese — let me ex- 
press a fervent wish that God's best blessing may 
rest upon this branch of the Church of England ; 
that she may ever be a living, growing, advancing 
Church ; that she may be sound in faith and 
holy in practice ; wise in her moderation, and yet 
abounding in zeal and earnestness ; that she may 
be faithful, devoted, and true to her Lord. Oh, 
that God may bless her clergy, and give spiritual 
life and grace to all her members ! 

Beloved, I now commend you to God, and to 
the word of His grace, praying that He will build 
up those among you who are His true people, and 
enable you to walk more and more closely with 
Him; praying, also, that He may be pleased, by 
the power of His Holy Spirit, to draw those of you 
to Himself who as yet know Him not and love 
Him not ; so that you too may be numbered among 
His children now, and enjoy His presence hereafter 
for ever. 



io8 



APPENDIX II. 



PRIMARY ADDRESS TO THE MEMBERS OF 
THE SYNOD. 

My brethren of the Clergy and Laity, — In 
presiding for the first time over this your Annual 
Synod, I must ask you to bear with me if I begin 
with a few remarks personal to myself. 

Having been summoned by the unanimous vote 
of the Clerical and Lay representatives of the 
Church in this Diocese, when solemnly assembled 
in Synod, I felt that I had no alternative but to 
leave my quiet retreat in England, where I had 
watched over a simple and affectionate people for 
one-and-twenty years, to obey at once your call, 
and to come among you as your elected Bishop. 

I felt that under such circumstances your call 
was the echo, as it were, of a higher summons from 
above ; and I regarded the expression of your 
wishes as indicative of the will of God. I came 
out therefore to fill my allotted post, not without 
sundry misgivings, but at the same time with a 



Address. 109 

strongly impressed conviction, and I may also say 
with an assured confidence, that He, who seemed 
so plainly to have marked out my path, and who 
Himself knew all my deficiencies, would give me 
the needed strength, the requisite wisdom, and the 
grace to fit me for my new and unexpected work. 

During the ten months that I have exercised 
my episcopal office among you, I may truly say 
that I have never once regretted the step which I 
have taken. The kind and generous reception 
which I met with on my first arrival from the in- 
habitants of this city and Diocese ; the cordial and 
affectionate desire shown by the Clergy to carry out 
my wishes ; and the very hearty co-operation of the 
Laity, who have evinced a zeal for the Church's 
welfare, as well as a respect for my office, which at 
once endears them to me — these would of them- 
selves be sufficient to call forth my thankfulness, and 
make me content with my present lot. But I have 
yet further cause for gratitude from the marked way 
in which God has, in answer to my prayers, been 
graciously pleased to endue me with bodily 
strength, such as I have not experienced for years 
past, and to afford me other helps to fit me for the 
emergencies of my new position. To Him I desire 
thus publicly to give the praise. 

I cannot help taking this early opportunity of 
acknowledging the debt I owe to my justly revered 
and beloved Predecessor, for the great work he 



I io Appendix II. 

achieved, with your assistance, in laying the founda- 
tion, and building up to its present height, the 
Church in this Diocese, with all its synodical and 
other organization. It is indeed a glorious structure, 
which will ever bear the impress of his wisdom, his 
intelligence, and his Christian character. He has 
been the 'wise Master Builder ;' and it remains for 
his successors to rear the spiritual edifice, according 
to the model which he has designed with such 
consummate care and skill. There are many 
features in our Canadian Church system, especially 
as regards its synodical character, which have 
called forth the unqualified admiration of our 
brethren in the mother country. And all that we 
now want is from time to time the infusion of fresh 
life into it, that life of which the Holy Spirit is 
alone the Author and Giver. 

And now there are certain points of general 
interest, in connexion with our Church and Diocese, 
which I desire to touch upon. 

i. First, as regards our Country Missions* 
The number of these amounts at the present 
time to fifty-nine, having many of them from two 
to four churches or congregations attached to them. 
Of these I regret to say only eight are self-sup- 
porting, and the remaining fifty-one are more or 

* These should perhaps rather be called c Church Sta- 
tions/ since many of them have lately assumed a less 
missionary, and a more permanent, character. 



Address, in 

less dependent on the Church at large for their 
maintenance. It is essential that these should 
be properly and vigorously sustained, that the 
ministerial teaching in each mission should be 
efficient, the public services adequate, and our ad- 
mirable Church system heartily carried out. 

But our attention must not be confined to 
existing missions. Whilst we use every exertion 
to preserve these in a flourishing condition, we must 
also be constantly on the alert to occupy fresh 
fields of labour as they present themselves. And I 
am persuaded that if our Church has real life and 
vigour in her, her bounds will be extending them- 
selves year by year; and though an increased 
demand will thereby be made upon her resources, 
she will hail with joy every fresh necessity as it 
arises to multiply her missions, and increase her 
staff of labourers. 

There are at this time two or three new posts, 
which might with advantage be entered upon, in 
each of which a faithful missionary would find his 
labours abundantly rewarded ; and each of which, 
if not undertaken by ourselves, will eventually be 
lost to the Church. There is also great need for 
two 'Travelling Missionaries,' to visit the lumber 
districts during the winter months, and to carry 
to those hardy and endurant men the message of 
the Gospel and the ministrations of the Church. 

May we not look forward to such an increase 



112 Appendix II. 

in our resources as will enable us to carry out these 
works of faith and labours of love, and that devoted 
men will not be wanting to fill these posts of self- 
denial to which the Church calls them ? 

In providing for the spiritual wants of our 
members, we should have a due regard for those 
districts which cry out to us for help, but can bring 
little or no resources of their own to supply the 
stipends of their ministers. To refuse to establish 
a new mission simply because there is but little 
prospect of its being in any measure self-supporting, 
would be a fatal error. To despise a call from our 
brethren because they chance to be poor would be 
contrary to the spirit of the gospel, and be unwise 
as well as unchristian. The fact of the Church's 
ministrations being demanded should be a sufficient 
reason for supplying that demand, if practicable, 
at any sacrifice to ourselves. There is much truth 
in the remark which I have somewhere seen, that 
'a Church which is content to lose its poor is 
losing its true riches.' 

And this leads me to speak of the manner in 
which our missions are at present sustained. The 
Church's work in this Diocese is to a certain extent 
fettered for lack of funds. Now, if it is to be 
carried on in a really earnest and hearty spirit, as I 
trust it will be, these five things are needed : 

First, Our Church members in the various 
parishes must make a more strenuous effort to 



Address. 113 

supply their proportion of the stipends of the Clergy 
who labour among them. I know that many of 
them can ill afford to do this, but I am very 
sure that they will see the paramount necessity of 
giving to the very utmost of their means for an 
object in which they themselves are so deeply 
interested. 

Secondly, The richer Laity of the Church, in 
this city and elsewhere, must be prepared for an 
in:reased demand upon their contributions to the 
Gjneral Church Fund of the Diocese; or, I would 
suggest (what would be far more beneficial) that 
the/ be willing, as some have already done, to 
name a fixed annual sum as their regular subscrip- 
tion to the fund. Their past liberality, whenever 
appealed to, makes me feel the most entire 
confidence that it will not be withheld, if only 
it be clearly shown to them that their Church 
needs it. 

Thirdly, In addition to the requirement of the 
Synod that an annual sermon be preached in every 
Church, it will be necessary that a bond fide collec- 
tion be made from house to house in every parish 
or mission throughout the Diocese, in augmenta- 
tion of this general fund. 

Fourthly, It will be necessary that an enquiry 
be mivde into the state of the various Endowments 
which exist in certain parishes, and the manner 
in which each property is invested ; also that a 

I 



114 Appendix II. 

correct record be kept by the registrar of all such 
endowments. 

Fifthly, And above all, a better organization 
is required for the distribution of our mission 
funds. I am rejoiced to say that a committee 
of laymen has been sitting, for the purpose of 
remodelling our system of grants on the one hand, 
and our requirements for the people on the other. 
Whatever changes this committee may recommend 
in their report, and the Synod may sanction, will, 
I trust, be carried out with the hearty concurrence 
of both clergy and laity. 

It is the more necessary that the Mission Fund 
should be forthwith placed on a sound footing, 
since the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel 
is gradually withdrawing its hitherto liberal grant 
from the Church in this colony. 

I feel that there is yet another point which I dare 
not omit. I believe that no Church will thoroughly 
prosper, unless she enlarge her heart towards those 
nations which enjoy not the same spiritual blessings 
as herself. While trying then to meet our own 
pressing needs, we must not close our hearts 
towards those of our fellow-men who are sitting 
in darkness and the shadow of death. Let us 
make an effort, according to our means, to extend 
help to others, and then we may look for God's 
blessing on ourselves. * There is that scattereth, 
and yet increaseth.' 



Address. 115 

During the past year the special collections 
throughout the Diocese have been carried on with 
much zeal, and with some success. The Annual 
Meeting, in the Mechanics' Hall, was perhaps the 
largest that has been held for many years. And 
we were glad to number among the pleaders for 
our work an eminent Bishop of the American 
Church. By his eloquence, the cause of our 
mission was greatly advanced ; and also an 
opportunity was given for the interchange of 
those cordial and brotherly feelings, which will, 
I trust, ever exist between the two Churches — 
each carefully adapting itself to the special require- 
ments of its position, but both one, indissolubly 
one, in all essential matters of faith and practice. 

i Facies non omnibus una, 
Nee diversa tamen, qualem decet esse sororum/ 

Whilst speaking on the subject of our financial 
resources, it will not, I trust, be thought out of 
place if I allude to a method very much resorted 
to at the present time, in order to raise money 
for religious objects — I mean that of Bazaars. 
I am quite aware of the multifarious and pressing 
nature of those efforts which, from time to time, 
claim the attention of clergymen and others. I 
am aware too of the exceeding difficulty of 
obtaining funds for the accomplishment of any- 
good object. But still the end, however desirable, 



n6 Appendix II. 

can never sanctify the means, if in themselves 
unworthy. It seems to me that by so doing we 
are setting aside real Christian benevolence, as 
if it were a thing in these days hardly to be 
attained, and are substituting in its stead a 
spurious and worldly system of liberality, on 
which God's blessing can scarcely be expected 
or even asked for. I should be very thankful to 
see a higher standard of almsgiving, and a healthier 
tone of charity, prevailing among the members 
of our Church. 

But I now pass on to speak, secondly, of the 
Condition and Prospects of our Clej'gy. 

I have on another public occasion borne my 
willing testimony to the general character of those 
who minister in holy things among us. I doubt if 
there is any Bishop w T ho can boast of a more la- 
borious, self-denying, earnest clergy than those who 
are working under my episcopal superintendence. 

I cannot but speak with much thankfulness 
of the general harmony of views which exists 
among us, and of the soundness, faithfulness, and 
moderation, which for the most part mark the 
preaching from our pulpits. There will ever be 
some few whose opinions reach the extreme line 
of what the Church permits ; but I am not aware 
of any within my Diocese who are so decidedly 
overstepping that line as to call for my interference. 



Address. 117 

Still there are some, whom I would gladly see 
conforming more heartily to the general feeling 
and spirit of the Church in which they serve. 
And I am extremely anxious that, by a little 
modification of practice, and by the exercise of 
a conciliatory spirit, there may be brought about 
a more entire conformity throughout the Diocese, 
especially in the ordinary mode of conducting 
our sendees. I hope that those who feel with 
me in this matter will be willing to make a 
sacrifice of their own cherished opinions, where 
at least no sacred principle is involved, in order 
to attain this desirable end ; and that they will 
boldly lead the way in making such concessions. 

It is the policy of our great enemy to separate 
us from one another as widely as he can ; it should 
be our policy — our holy and Christian policy — 
to close our ranks, and wage our warfare side 
by side. Our strength lies in united action. And 
if God is pleased to draw us nearer together by 
the attraction of a loving spirit, this will make 
us strong against our common foe, and strong 
in the discharge of our spiritual mission. May it 
ever be so with us ! For then, and not otherwise, 
will our Church answer to that description given 
in the inspired song ; she will be ' beautiful as 
Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army 
with banners.' 

As regards our Christian brethren who belong 



n8 Appendix I L 

to other communions, we should avoid anything 
like an attitude of antagonism towards them, 
or the use of hard words and unkind expressions, 
whilst we hold our own with a honest and firm 
hand. We should inculcate in our teaching 
sound and definite Church principles, and at the 
same time set forth clearly, distinctly, and pro- 
minently, the great and life-giving doctrines of 
the Cross. Our best weapon is, I believe, an 
earnest declaration of what we know to be God's 
truth, a simple uplifting of Christ before our 
people, and a desire to embody this teaching in 
our daily lives. 

On the appointment of a clergyman to any 
leading parish or mission, I propose in future 
either to induct him into his charge myself in 
the presence of the whole congregation, or to 
commission some one of my clergy to act as my 
representative in so doing. The entrance of a 
clergyman into a new sphere of labour, and his 
reception by the congregation, I feel to be of 
so solemn a nature, that the opening service in 
which he takes part ought to be marked by some 
public ceremony befitting the occasion. I have 
prepared a Form of Service for this purpose, which 
is chiefly borrowed from one in use in the Sister 
Church of America. 

I spoke just now of the duty and expediency 
of sustaining our Missions with vigour. But we 



Address, 119 

must not forget that the Church has also a duty 
to perform towards the Labourers in these missions. 
The incomes of the clergy strike me as being 
lamentably small ; not merely in comparison with 
the stipends allotted to them in other dioceses, 
but also in comparison with those enjoyed by 
men who are engaged in other and less important 
callings. Many of our most active clergymen 
are at present receiving barely $600' a-year. I 
am glad however to see it acknowledged in the 
authorized rules and constitution of the Church 
in this Diocese, that 'the minimum salary of the 
clergy shall be $800 per annum/ I should be still 
more glad if that intention could be carried out, 
though at present it seems scarcely possible, owing 
to the deficient state of our funds. I would 
express a hope that the attention of the laity 
will be directed to this urgent question ; and the 
more so, as I feel assured that no request will 
emanate from the clergy themselves. 

The fact that the supply of clergymen is at 
present somewhat below the demand is attributable 
in part to this inadequacy of the remuneration 
we have to offer them. It is true, men can be 
found, but not men of the right stamp, to fill 
our ranks. And I am sure you will agree with 
me in feeling that it would be a serious disaster 
to our Church, if, in consequence of the lack of 
men, we were to lower the qualifications of our 



120 Appendix II. 

clergy, and admit candidates of an inferior grade. 
My desire is to raise, if possible, the standard 
of ministerial efficiency, rather than to diminish 
it, assured that in these days especially we want 
a well-educated, as well as an earnest and faithful, 
body of clergy. 

The number of spiritual labourers within the 
Diocese at this time amounts to eighty-seven. 
Of these seventy-nine are in holy orders, and the 
remaining eight are catechists, or lay readers, 
licensed by the Bishop. 

3. The Training of our Candidates for Holy 
Orders is not altogether on a satisfactory footing. 
The fact of our Theological College being at a 
distance places us at a disadvantage. And I should 
certainly be thankful if I could gather my candi- 
dates for the sacred ministry around me here 
at Montreal, where I could watch their characters 
and conduct, and superintend their preparation 
for the ministry. I feel unwilling however without 
more mature consideration to interfere with the 
present arrangement as regards the college at 
Lennoxville. But if it should eventually be found 
desirable to move the theological department 
nearer home, I doubt not that I should obtain 
from the Churchmen of the Diocese the needed 
help to enable me to carry out the project. My 
present conviction is that, if we had in this city 



Address. 12 1 

a Theological Institution, with a Building worthy 
of its character, it would prove an immense blessing 
to the Diocese. 

4. I feel anxious to take this opportunity of 
calling attention to what I consider a very lax 
and objectionable practice in administering the 
Sacrament of Baptism, and in celebrating the rite 
of Marriage, in private houses. There are reasons 
why it should have been permitted in this country, 
and principally from the fact of many parishes 
having been hitherto unprovided with Churches. 
These reasons however for the most part no 
longer exist. I must request my clergy to dis- 
continue a practice so entirely without precedent 
in our Church, except in peculiar cases, and then 
not without the special permission of the Diocesan. 
As regards Baptism, however, the illness of the 
recipient is, of course, a sufficient ground for the 
use of the private service provided in our prayer 
book. 

5. The subject of Liturgical Changes has of late 
occupied some attention. I have on many occa- 
sions, both in the Convocation of Canterbury and 
elsewhere, advocated a certain modification of our 
rubrical directions, to suit the wants of the present 
generation. I would gladly see liberty given for 
the use of the Morning Prayer, the Litany, and the 



122 Appendix I L 

office for the Holy Communion, as separate ser- 
vices, according to the original intention ; or, when 
used in their combined form, divested of certain 
repetitions which now mar their beauty. 

We greatly need also a Third -Form of Service, 
to be used in the evening in those churches where 
prayers have already been read in the morning and 
afternoon. This seems to be especially called for 
in our city congregations. 

And further, we perhaps want a curtailed Form 
of Prayer for occasional or special use. 

But for these we may be well content to wait, 
until the Mother Church leads the way, which she 
is evidently prepared to do at no very distant 
day. 

I much hope that the new Lectionary, which 
has been prepared with great care by the Ritual 
Commission, and has passed the English Convoca- 
tion, will be submitted to our Provincial Synod at 
its next meeting. The adoption of this new 
Calendar of Lessons will be a great boon to our 
Church, and has long been wanted. 

I propose putting into the hands of my clergy a 
Form of Harvest Thanksgiving. It may be used 
this year merely as an optional service, with a view 
to some approved Form being ultimately submitted 
to the Provincial Synod for its sanction. 

6. The expediency of having one authorised 



Address. 123 

Hymn Book for the Diocese, if not for the whole 
Province, has been much on my mind. A com- 
mittee appointed by the Provincial Synod upon the 
subject is now sitting, and will, I hope, before next 
year be prepared with its Report. 

There are many difficulties and arguments 
which array themselves against the adoption of 
such a book, but the countervailing advantages 
seem to me to be immense. 

I have long felt that the lack of uniformity in 
this respect is a prominent source of the Church's 
weakness ; and I should heartily rejoice to see it 
remedied. We are rich in Hymn-books in the 
present day; and from the varied treasures that 
exist an excellent selection may be made, and one 
that would, I hope, commend itself to persons of all 
views, and would meet with general acceptance. 
In any case it would be very unwise to make the 
reception of such a book compulsory on our congre- 
gations : it would be sufficient that its introduction 
into the diocese or province should be permissive, 
sanctioned as it would be by authority. 

7. I cannot omit the mention of a subject 
which has given rise to some discussion in the 
lesser meetings of our Clergy and Laity. I refer to 
the Ruri-diaconal System. 

I know that it has not found much favour 
with the Clergy generally; but feeling that the 



124 Appendix II. 

office is of ancient origin, and that it now forms an 
integral part of our Ecclesiastical system, feeling 
also that it may be made extremely helpful to the 
Bishop, as well as conducive to the good order and 
working of the Diocese, I am unwilling lightly to 
abandon it. I must therefore ask you to bear with 
me in my conservative wish that it should be con- 
tinued as a part of our Church Organization. I 
propose however in the event of vacancies occur- 
ring, to leave the selection of the Rural Dean in a 
great measure in the hands of the Clergy of the 
Deanery. This will relieve me of some responsi- 
bility, and make me feel that the office is filled by 
one of your own choice. It may also be desirable 
to review and re-cast the Form of Instructions 
given to the Rural Dean, on his appointment by 
the Bishop. 

8. I am thankful to say that I have been 
enabled to visit the larger half of the Diocese, 
namely, forty-three missions, during the past ten 
months ; and I hope to complete my visitation of 
the whole before the commencement of another 
winter. My first Episcopal act was to consecrate 
the little church at Como in September last. Other 
churches are now in the course of erection : and 
several, especially in the Deanery of St. Andrews, 
will be ready for consecration during the ensuing 
autumn. I have held Confirmations in twenty 



Address. 125 

parishes, and received nearly four hundred persons 
into full membership with the Church. I have also 
ordained six Clergymen, who are now at work in 
the Diocese. 

And now, as to the future of our beloved Church 
in this land, I cannot but think that the prospect is 
bright and hopeful. With a sound and devoted 
Clergy, loving the work which their- Heavenly 
Master has given them to do, and anxious by the 
power of His Holy Spirit to win souls to Him ; 
and with a generous and right-hearted laity, zealous 
not merely for their own, but for the Church's 
welfare, we have little to fear. There is a great 
and glorious work entrusted to us by our Lord ; 
and happy for us if during our short hour of life 
we take, each of us, our part in the fulfilment of 
it. On you, my reverend brethren, devolves the 
important duty of acting as leaders in the progress 
onward ; and whilst you go forward, undaunted by 
the difficulties before you, and confiding in the 
promise of your Lord, sure I am that our lay brethren 
will rally round you, upholding you in your great 
enterprise by their untiring aid, and cheering you 
by their sympathy. 

I have now only a few more words to add 
regarding the present Synod, which I have to-day 
the privilege of opening, and over which I have the 



126 Appendix II. 

still greater privilege of presiding. I have looked 
forward to its meeting with some degree of anxiety, 
knowing the influence which its calm and dignified 
bearing will have upon the Church at large, and 
feeling the great responsibility of the part in it 
which I am called to take. But of this I am 
assured, that if He whose aid we have solemnly 
invoked, is Himself with us, my anxiety will be 
exchanged for thankfulness. The eyes of many of 
our brother Churchmen are turned towards Canada 
at the present time ; let it be seen, from the temper 
we display at our Synod meetings, that we can 
come together as Christian brethren, and separate 
with our hearts warmed, and our spirits calmed 
and chastened. 

I am inclined to think that in all mixed gather- 
ings of Churchmen there is some little danger, lest 
a feeling of clanship should be allowed to spring 
up between the Clergy and Laity. This should 
be especially guarded against ; for surely the in- 
terests of the one body are the interests also of the 
other ; and the moment those interests are divided, 
the well-being of the Church is in peril of being 
weakened. 

It is for this reason that I would venture to 
recommend a very sparing use of our privilege of 
Voting by Orders. It is important for both parties 
that the privilege exists ; but we should resort to it 
only on very exceptional occasions. This manner 



Address. 127 

of voting should be regarded by us as something 
*ather held in reserve, than brought into frequent 
exercise — as a power which should be rather felt, 
than often used. It is well for a Church when its 
clerical and lay members feel such mutual confi- 
dence towards each other, that they can consult 
together with perfect freedom and singleness of 
purpose. And better still is it when they can be 
seen habitually voting together, and acting together, 
without distinction. This should be our rule ; the 
other only the rare exception. 

And may I not also express a hope, an earnest 
hope, that the Clerical members of this Synod may 
have come here prepared to lay aside their sectional 
differences — that from the tone which prevails 
within these walls it may be happily apparent to 
all that the spirit of party is speedily dying out, 
and that the spirit of union is taking its place. 

Try to forget, my Reverend Brethren, any little 
specialties, either of doctrine or practice, which 
have in days past ranged you on separate sides ; 
and think only of the greatness of those matters 
on which you are sent here to deliberate, and of 
His honour which should be dearer to you than 
all else. Look at each question which shall come 
before you, not as to how it will affect yourselves, 
but how it will affect the Church at large. 

In your recent Sessions the subject which 
engaged your attention was of an unusually exciting 



1 2 8 Appendix II 

character, and naturally aroused a certain warmth 
of feeling. That subject has now passed away, 
and with it I trust any little irritation which it 
called up at the time. We shall henceforth do 
well to lay aside all bitterness of feeling, and devote 
ourselves to those questions of practical importance 
which shall come before us. And surely if our 
deliberations are conducted in a spirit of self- 
control, and as in the presence of God Himself — if 
we speak with all deference towards each other, 
and with due respect for the opinions of those who 
may chance to differ from us — then may opposing 
views be expressed without the slightest risk of our 
harmony being disturbed. 

I have full confidence in those who are now 
before me, that they will strive to promote the 
feeling which I have expressed ; and that their 
chief forbearance will be exercised towards myself, 
in presiding for the first time over this important 
Assembly. 

May the Holy Spirit so possess our hearts with 
His calm and gracious influence, that we may 
speak with all Christian love and wisdom ! And 
may He Himself so direct all that shall be said 
and done during this present session, that it may 
tend to the advancement of His glory, and the 
growth of His Kingdom among us ! 



London : Strangeways and Walden, Printers, Castle St., Leicester Sq. 



WORKS BY 
THE RT. REV. ASHTON OXENDEN, D.D. 

Bishop of Montreal and Metropolitan of Canada, 

Published by HATCHARDS, 187 Piccadilly. 



1. Short Lectures on the Sunday Gospels. 

(Vol. I. ADVENT TO EASTER. 
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BARHAM TRACTS. 



25 for Is. 4d. assorted, or the 49 numbers in packet, 3s. 



10. 



The Bible 

Prayer 

Public Prayer 

Family Prayer 

Cottage Family Prayers .... 
Ditto, in covers 

The Sinner and the Saviour . . 

Are you Happy? 

Are you Ready ? 

Passion Week 

Baptism ; or, What is the good 
of being Christened ? 

The Lord's Supper,- or, Who 
are the Welcome Guests ? . . 

My Duty to my Child 

How shall I Spend Sunday ? 

The Season of Sickness 

The Great Journey 

How shall I spend Christmas ? 

I am deaf, and therefore do not 
go to Church 

The Prayer which many use, 
and but few understand . . 

Old John; or, the Bible with 
a large Print 

Is my State a safe one ? 

Poor Sarah 

The Holy Spirit 

A Happy New Year 

A Word or two about Lent . . 

How shall I spend Whitsun- 
tide ? 



Private Prayers for Cottagers 1 
How shall I spend To-day ? . . 
What shall I do this Michael- 
mas ? 1 

The Fatal Railway Accident. . 1 

A Word or Two for Servants . . 1 

My Duty to the Heathen ..... 1 

The Promised Land 1 

I have had my Child registered 1 
What can I do for my Church 

and my Parish ? 1 

Thoughts for the Sick and Sor- 
rowful - 2 

The Pathway through the 

Corn-field 1 

Simple Truth for the Unlearned 1 

Do you believe the Bible ? . . . . 1 

True and False Repentance . . 1 
David Jones ; or, the old Welsh 

Churchman 1 

Alfred Barton; or, the Down- 
hill Path 1 

The Great Deliverer 1 

The Joyful Resurrection .... 
Heavenward. A Tract for 

Ascension Day 1 

Deathbeds 1 

The Sleeping Sinner on Earth 1 

The Awakened Sinner in Hell 1 

The Penitent Sinner on Earth 1 

The Saved Sinner in Heav en . . 1 



PLUCKLEY TRACTS. (First Series.) 



25 for Is. &d. assorted, or the 33 members in packet, 2s. 



No. d. 
1. Adam; or the Forfeited In- 
heritance 1 

in and Abel; or, the Infidel 

id the True Believer 1 

>ch; or, a Close Walk with 

lod 1 

mselah; or, Life's Pil- 
grimage 1 

6. Noah; or, the Preaching Life 1 
6. Abraham ; or, Faith and Works 1 
?. Lot ; or, the Unhappy Choice 1 
I . Isaac ; or, the Child of Promise 1 
f. Jacob; or, the Wrestler with 

God 1 

10. Joseph ; or, the Secret of True 
Prosperity 1 



No. d. 

11. Job ; or, the Blessing of Afflic- 

tion 

12. Moses ; or, the Faithful Leader 

13. Pharaoh; or, the Gradual Hard- 

ening of the Heart 

14. Balaam; or, the Empty Wish 

15. Joshua; or, the Pious 'Officer 

16. Samson; or, Man's Weakness 

and God's Strength 

17. Ruth; or, the Mourner Com- 

forted 

13. Eli; or, Mistaken Kindness.. 

19. Samuel ; or, the Son of many 

Prayers 

20. Saul;' or, Misery in the midst 

of Greatness 



PLUCKLEY TRACTS. (First Series.) Continued. 



No. 

2 1 . David ; or, the Man after God's 

own Heart 

22. Solomon; or, Grace is Better 

than Wisdom 

23. Elijah; or, the Fearless Man 

of God 

24. Elisha; or, the Lowly Ex- 

alted 

25. Hezekiah; or, the Good King 

26. Manasseh ; or, the Royal Peni- 

tent 

27. Josiah; or, the Right-minded 

King 



No. d. 

28. Daniel ; or, the Safety of those 

who Trust God I 

29. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- 

nego ; or, Deliverance in the 
Midst of Danger 

30. Jonah ; or, the Withered Gourd 

31. Belshazzar; or, the Hand- 

writing on the Wall 

82. Nehemiah; or, Prayer the 
Secret of Success 

33. Haman ; or, the Favourite Dis- 
graced 



PLUCKLEY TRACTS. (Second Series.) 

25 for Is. 4zd. assorted, or the 34 numbers in packet, 2s. 



No. 

1 . St. John the Baptist ; or, the 

Voice in the Wilderness .... 

2. Simeon; or, the Aged Believer 

3. Andrew; or, the True -hearted 

Brother 

4. St. Peter; or, Strength and 

Weakness. Part I 

5. St. Peter; or, the Zealous and 

Faithful Minister. Part II. 

6. St. Matthew; or, Leaving all 

for Christ 

7. Lazarus and his Sisters ; or, the 

Family whom Jesus Loved • . 

8. Zaccheus; or, the Seeker Re- 

warded 

9. Mary; or, the Honoured Mother 

10. Judas Iscariot; or, a Traitor 

among the Twelve 

11. Saul; or, the Pharisee Con- 

verted 

12. St. Paul; or, the Soldier of 

Christ 

13. Nicodemus ; or, the Weak Be- 

liever made Strong 

14. Pilate; or, the Unrighteous 

Judge 

15. The Dying Thief ; or, Salvation 

to the Uttermost 

16. St. Stephen; or, the Fearless 

Martyr 

1 7. The Woman who was a Sinner; 

or, the Penitent's Love to 
Christ 

18. Mary Magdalene; or, the 

Faithful Mourner at the Cross 



No. 

19. Cornelius; or, the First-fruits 

from among the Gentiles 

20. Onesimus; or, the Converted 

Slave 

21. St. John; or, the Disciple 

whom Jesus Loved 

22. The Woman of Canaan; or, 

Prayer Heard and Answered 

23. St. Thomas; or, Encourage- 

ment to the Weak Believer.. 

24. Philip; or, the Heaven-sent 

Guide 

25. Timothy; or, in the Morning 

Sow thy Seed 

26. Gallio ; or, the Spirit of Care- 

less Indifference 

27. Lydia; or, the Woman whose 

Heart the Lord opened 

28. The Heathen Jailor ; or, What 

shall I do to be Saved? 

29. The Man Born Blind ; or, Christ 

near to us in the Hour of Need 

30. Ananias and Sapphira ; or the 

Hidden Falsehood brought 
to Light 

31. Simon the Sorcerer; or, the 

False Convert 

32. Aquila and Priscilla; or, the 

Christian Helpers 

33. The Cripple of Bethesda; or, 

Wilt thou be made Whole ? 

34. Joseph of Arimathea; or, a 

Hidden One of Christ's Flock 



HATCHAKDS, 187 Piccadilly ; 

HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO. 32 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. 



LIBRARY 



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